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Sample records for marsupials electronic resource

  1. Australasian marsupials--to cherish and to hold.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyndale-Biscoe, C H

    2001-01-01

    Considerable interchange of mammals between South America and Australasia occurred during the first half of the Tertiary, including the presence of placental mammals in Australia. This challenges the old assumption that the marsupial radiation in Australia was made possible by the absence of placental competition, and suggests that two properties of marsupial organization may have favoured their survival in the increasingly arid climates that developed after the separation of Australasia from Antarctica. The basal metabolic rates of marsupials are about 70% of equivalent placentals, so their maintenance requirements for energy, nitrogen and water are lower, whereas their field metabolic rates are about the same, which means that they have a greater metabolic scope to call on when active. This may have given marsupials an advantage in semi-arid environments. The lengthy and complex lactation of marsupials enables the female to exploit limited resources over an extended period without compromising the survival of the young. Both these properties of marsupials enabled them to survive the double constraints of low fertility soils and the uncertain climate of Australia throughout the Tertiary. The arrival of people was followed first by the extinction of the large marsupials and, much later, by the wholesale decline or extinction of the small-to-medium sized species. The common factor in both extinctions may have been the constraints of marsupial reproduction.

  2. Artificial insemination in marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodger, John C; Paris, Damien B B P; Czarny, Natasha A; Harris, Merrilee S; Molinia, Frank C; Taggart, David A; Allen, Camryn D; Johnston, Stephen D

    2009-01-01

    Assisted breeding technology (ART), including artificial insemination (AI), has the potential to advance the conservation and welfare of marsupials. Many of the challenges facing AI and ART for marsupials are shared with other wild species. However, the marsupial mode of reproduction and development also poses unique challenges and opportunities. For the vast majority of marsupials, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding basic reproductive biology to guide an AI strategy. For threatened or endangered species, only the most basic reproductive information is available in most cases, if at all. Artificial insemination has been used to produce viable young in two marsupial species, the koala and tammar wallaby. However, in these species the timing of ovulation can be predicted with considerably more confidence than in any other marsupial. In a limited number of other marsupials, such precise timing of ovulation has only been achieved using hormonal treatment leading to conception but not live young. A unique marsupial ART strategy which has been shown to have promise is cross-fostering; the transfer of pouch young of a threatened species to the pouches of foster mothers of a common related species as a means to increase productivity. For the foreseeable future, except for a few highly iconic or well studied species, there is unlikely to be sufficient reproductive information on which to base AI. However, if more generic approaches can be developed; such as ICSI (to generate embryos) and female synchronization (to provide oocyte donors or embryo recipients), then the prospects for broader application of AI/ART to marsupials are promising.

  3. American marsupials chromosomes: why study them?

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    Marta Svartman

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Marsupials, one of the three main groups of mammals, are only found in Australia and in the American continent. Studies performed in Australian marsupials have demonstrated the great potential provided by the group for the understanding of basic genetic mechanisms and chromosome evolution in mammals. Genetic studies in American marsupials are relatively scarce and cytogenetic data of most species are restricted to karyotype descriptions, usually without banding patterns. Nevertheless, the first marsupial genome sequenced was that of Monodelphis domestica, a South American species. The knowledge about mammalian genome evolution and function that resulted from studies on M. domestica is in sharp contrast with the lack of genetic data on most American marsupial species. Here, we present an overview of the chromosome studies performed in marsupials with emphasis on the South American species.

  4. Water metabolism in Australian marsupials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hume, I.D.

    1982-01-01

    Several studies are discussed in which tritiated water (TOH) has been used to investigate water metabolism in Australian marsupials, particularly arid-zone species. Equilibration of injected TOH in large kangaroos was slower than in smaller marsupials and similar to that in ruminants and camels, presumably because of the high gut water space of all large forestomach fermenters. Loss of TOH in urine, faeces and insensible water during equilibration was also similar to that in ruminants. Total body water (TBW) was similar whether estimated by equilibration or extrapolation. TBW of small marsupial species (16 g to 6.5 kg body weight) was usually in the range found for small eutherian mammals (56 to 68% of body weight). However, in the larger kangaroos TBW ranged from 73 to 78% of body weight, possibly due to the low body fat content and the high ratio of gut contents to total body weight of kangaroos. In general, the water turnover rate of marsupials is about 30% below that of eutherians; this has been related to their lower metabolic rate. Nevertheless, significant differences in water turnover have been found between some species. It has been suggested that there may be a correlation between the water turnover rates measured under ad libitum water availability and the aridity of the animal's habitat. However, this is not always so; differences in behaviour and in the water content of the natural diet explain why some marsupials with high ad libitum water turnovers can survive in desert environments. The physiological state of the animals (e.g. lactation) has also been shown to affect water turnover, both in the laboratory and in the field. (author)

  5. Newly discovered young CORE-SINEs in marsupial genomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munemasa, Maruo; Nikaido, Masato; Nishihara, Hidenori; Donnellan, Stephen; Austin, Christopher C; Okada, Norihiro

    2008-01-15

    Although recent mammalian genome projects have uncovered a large part of genomic component of various groups, several repetitive sequences still remain to be characterized and classified for particular groups. The short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) distributed among marsupial genomes are one example. We have identified and characterized two new SINEs from marsupial genomes that belong to the CORE-SINE family, characterized by a highly conserved "CORE" domain. PCR and genomic dot blot analyses revealed that the distribution of each SINE shows distinct patterns among the marsupial genomes, implying different timing of their retroposition during the evolution of marsupials. The members of Mar3 (Marsupialia 3) SINE are distributed throughout the genomes of all marsupials, whereas the Mac1 (Macropodoidea 1) SINE is distributed specifically in the genomes of kangaroos. Sequence alignment of the Mar3 SINEs revealed that they can be further divided into four subgroups, each of which has diagnostic nucleotides. The insertion patterns of each SINE at particular genomic loci, together with the distribution patterns of each SINE, suggest that the Mar3 SINEs have intensively amplified after the radiation of diprotodontians, whereas the Mac1 SINE has amplified only slightly after the divergence of hypsiprimnodons from other macropods. By compiling the information of CORE-SINEs characterized to date, we propose a comprehensive picture of how SINE evolution occurred in the genomes of marsupials.

  6. The evolutionary process of mammalian sex determination genes focusing on marsupial SRYs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsura, Yukako; Kondo, Hiroko X; Ryan, Janelle; Harley, Vincent; Satta, Yoko

    2018-01-16

    Maleness in mammals is genetically determined by the Y chromosome. On the Y chromosome SRY is known as the mammalian male-determining gene. Both placental mammals (Eutheria) and marsupial mammals (Metatheria) have SRY genes. However, only eutherian SRY genes have been empirically examined by functional analyses, and the involvement of marsupial SRY in male gonad development remains speculative. In order to demonstrate that the marsupial SRY gene is similar to the eutherian SRY gene in function, we first examined the sequence differences between marsupial and eutherian SRY genes. Then, using a parsimony method, we identify 7 marsupial-specific ancestral substitutions, 13 eutherian-specific ancestral substitutions, and 4 substitutions that occurred at the stem lineage of therian SRY genes. A literature search and molecular dynamics computational simulations support that the lineage-specific ancestral substitutions might be involved with the functional differentiation between marsupial and eutherian SRY genes. To address the function of the marsupial SRY gene in male determination, we performed luciferase assays on the testis enhancer of Sox9 core (TESCO) using the marsupial SRY. The functional assay shows that marsupial SRY gene can weakly up-regulate the luciferase expression via TESCO. Despite the sequence differences between the marsupial and eutherian SRY genes, our functional assay indicates that the marsupial SRY gene regulates SOX9 as a transcription factor in a similar way to the eutherian SRY gene. Our results suggest that SRY genes obtained the function of male determination in the common ancestor of Theria (placental mammals and marsupials). This suggests that the marsupial SRY gene has a function in male determination, but additional experiments are needed to be conclusive.

  7. Morphometric evaluation of keratocystic odontogenic tumor before and after marsupialization

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    Deborah Campos Telles

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was the morphometric evaluation of the epithelial lining and fibrous capsule in histological specimens of keratocystic odontogenic tumors (KOTs before and after marsupialization. Histological sections from six KOTs that had undergone marsupialization followed by enucleation were photographed. The thickness and features of the capsule and of the epithelial lining of the tumor were evaluated upon marsupialization and upon subsequent enucleation using Axion Vision software. The histological specimens taken upon marsupialization presented an epithelial lining that is typical of KOTs. After marsupialization, the enucleated specimens had a modified epithelial lining and a fibrous capsule that both presented a greater median thickness (p = 0.0277 and p = 0.0212, respectively, morphological changes, and significant enlargement. These modifications can facilitate full surgical treatment and may well be related to a low KOT recurrence rate.

  8. Simplification of arboreal marsupial assemblages in response to increasing urbanization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isaac, Bronwyn; White, John; Ierodiaconou, Daniel; Cooke, Raylene

    2014-01-01

    Arboreal marsupials play an essential role in ecosystem function including regulating insect and plant populations, facilitating pollen and seed dispersal and acting as a prey source for higher-order carnivores in Australian environments. Primarily, research has focused on their biology, ecology and response to disturbance in forested and urban environments. We used presence-only species distribution modelling to understand the relationship between occurrences of arboreal marsupials and eco-geographical variables, and to infer habitat suitability across an urban gradient. We used post-proportional analysis to determine whether increasing urbanization affected potential habitat for arboreal marsupials. The key eco-geographical variables that influenced disturbance intolerant species and those with moderate tolerance to disturbance were natural features such as tree cover and proximity to rivers and to riparian vegetation, whereas variables for disturbance tolerant species were anthropogenic-based (e.g., road density) but also included some natural characteristics such as proximity to riparian vegetation, elevation and tree cover. Arboreal marsupial diversity was subject to substantial change along the gradient, with potential habitat for disturbance-tolerant marsupials distributed across the complete gradient and potential habitat for less tolerant species being restricted to the natural portion of the gradient. This resulted in highly-urbanized environments being inhabited by a few generalist arboreal marsupial species. Increasing urbanization therefore leads to functional simplification of arboreal marsupial assemblages, thus impacting on the ecosystem services they provide.

  9. Phylogeny, diet, and cranial integration in australodelphian marsupials.

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    Anjali Goswami

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Studies of morphological integration provide valuable information on the correlated evolution of traits and its relationship to long-term patterns of morphological evolution. Thus far, studies of morphological integration in mammals have focused on placentals and have demonstrated that similarity in integration is broadly correlated with phylogenetic distance and dietary similarity. Detailed studies have also demonstrated a significant correlation between developmental relationships among structures and adult morphological integration. However, these studies have not yet been applied to marsupial taxa, which differ greatly from placentals in reproductive strategy and cranial development and could provide the diversity necessary to assess the relationships among phylogeny, ecology, development, and cranial integration. This study presents analyses of morphological integration in 20 species of australodelphian marsupials, and shows that phylogeny is significantly correlated with similarity of morphological integration in most clades. Size-related correlations have a significant affect on results, particularly in Peramelia, which shows a striking decrease in similarity of integration among species when size is removed. Diet is not significantly correlated with similarity of integration in any marsupial clade. These results show that marsupials differ markedly from placental mammals in the relationships of cranial integration, phylogeny, and diet, which may be related to the accelerated development of the masticatory apparatus in marsupials.

  10. Simplification of arboreal marsupial assemblages in response to increasing urbanization.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bronwyn Isaac

    Full Text Available Arboreal marsupials play an essential role in ecosystem function including regulating insect and plant populations, facilitating pollen and seed dispersal and acting as a prey source for higher-order carnivores in Australian environments. Primarily, research has focused on their biology, ecology and response to disturbance in forested and urban environments. We used presence-only species distribution modelling to understand the relationship between occurrences of arboreal marsupials and eco-geographical variables, and to infer habitat suitability across an urban gradient. We used post-proportional analysis to determine whether increasing urbanization affected potential habitat for arboreal marsupials. The key eco-geographical variables that influenced disturbance intolerant species and those with moderate tolerance to disturbance were natural features such as tree cover and proximity to rivers and to riparian vegetation, whereas variables for disturbance tolerant species were anthropogenic-based (e.g., road density but also included some natural characteristics such as proximity to riparian vegetation, elevation and tree cover. Arboreal marsupial diversity was subject to substantial change along the gradient, with potential habitat for disturbance-tolerant marsupials distributed across the complete gradient and potential habitat for less tolerant species being restricted to the natural portion of the gradient. This resulted in highly-urbanized environments being inhabited by a few generalist arboreal marsupial species. Increasing urbanization therefore leads to functional simplification of arboreal marsupial assemblages, thus impacting on the ecosystem services they provide.

  11. Desenvolvimento marsupial e pós-marsupial de Janaira Gracilis (Crustacea, Isopoda, Asellota Marsupial and postmarsupial development of Janaira gracilis

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    Ana Maria Setubal Pires

    1977-01-01

    Full Text Available No presente estudo são descritos os estádios de desenvolvimento de Janaira gracilis e discutidos vários aspectos de seu crescimento. Coletou-se o material mensalmente, de janeiro de 1972 a janeiro de 1973, junto ao trapiche da Base Norte do Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo, Ubatuba, Estado de Sao Paulo. Janaira gracilis apresenta 4 estádios de desenvolvimento marsupial, 9 de desenvolvimento pós-marsupial para as fêmeas, e 10 para os machos. Os estádios pós-marsupiais podem ser bem determinados através do número de artículos do flagelo da antena 1, pereópodo I e VII, pleópodos 1 e 2 masculino e desenvolvimento de oostégitos na fêmea. As transformações decorrentes do desenvolvimento pós-marsupial são mais marcantes nos machos, pois as fêmeas conservam uma morfologia juvenil e uniforme durante toda a sua vida. O crescimento médio dos machos suplanta o das fêmeas a partir do estádio 7. Nestas, a diminuição de crescimento observada deve-se, provavelmente, à utilização crescente de energia disponível, para fins reprodutivos. Os machos alcançam a maturidade sexual precocemente às fêmeas.The development and growth of Janaira gracilis are described and discussed. The sampling was carried out once a month from January 1972 to January 1973 at the pier of Base Norte, Instituto Oceanográfico USP, Ubatuba, State of São Paulo. Four distinct marsupial stages were disclosed in the development of Janaira gracilis as well as 9 distinct postmarsupial stages for the females and 10 for the males. Every postmarsupial instar can be distinguished by morphological features, such as first antennae articles, first and seventh pereopod, first and second pair of pleopods and the oostegites. During the course of development females undergo less morphological changes than males. Considering the final stages, in average males are larger than females. It is suggested that the decrease in growth of females may be related to

  12. Biodiversity and parasites of wildlife: helminths of Australasian marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beveridge, Ian; Spratt, David M

    2015-04-01

    Despite current attempts to document the extent of biodiversity on Earth, significant problems exist in fully documenting the helminth parasites of wildlife. Using the Australasian marsupials as an example, we examine some of these difficulties, including challenges in collecting uncommon host species, the ongoing description of new species of marsupials, the presence of cryptic species, and the decline in taxonomic expertise in Australia. Although optimistic global predictions have been made concerning the rate of discovery and description of new species of animals, these predictions may not apply in the case of specific groups of animals such as the Australasian marsupials. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. X-linked gene expression and X-chromosome inactivation: marsupials, mouse, and man compared.

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    VandeBerg, J L; Robinson, E S; Samollow, P B; Johnston, P G

    1987-01-01

    The existence of paternal X inactivation in Australian and American marsupial species suggests that this feature of X-chromosome dosage compensation is not a recent adaptation, but probably predates the evolutionary separation of the Australian and American marsupial lineages. Although it is theoretically possible that the marsupial system is one of random X inactivation with p greater than 0.99 and q less than 0.01 and dependent on parental source, no instance of random X inactivation (p = q or p not equal to q) has ever been verified in any tissue or cell type of any marsupial species. Therefore, we conclude that the most fundamental difference in X inactivation of marsupials and eutherians is whether the inactive X is the paternal one or is determined at random (with p = q in most but not all cases). The only other unequivocal difference between eutherians and marsupials is that both X chromosomes are active in mice and human oocytes, but not in kangaroo oocytes. Apparently, the inactive X is reactivated at a later meiotic stage or during early embryogenesis in kangaroos. X-chromosome inactivation takes place early in embryogenesis of eutherians and marsupials. Extraembryonic membranes of mice exhibit paternal X inactivation, whereas those of humans seem to exhibit random X inactivation with p greater than q (i.e., preferential paternal X inactivation). In general, extraembryonic membranes of marsupial exhibit paternal X inactivation, but the Gpd locus is active on both X chromosomes in at least some cells of kangaroo yolk sac. It is difficult to draw any general conclusion because of major differences in embryogeny of mice, humans, and marsupials, and uncertainties in interpreting the data from humans. Other differences between marsupials and eutherians in patterns of X-linked gene expression and X-chromosome inactivation seem to be quantitative rather than qualitative. Partial expression of some genes on the inactive X is characteristic of marsupials, with

  14. DNA hybridization evidence for the Australasian affinity of the American marsupial Dromiciops australis.

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    Kirsch, J A; Dickerman, A W; Reig, O A; Springer, M S

    1991-01-01

    DNA hybridization was used to compare representatives of the major groups of marsupials and a eutherian outgroup. Because of the large genetic distances separating marsupial families, trees were calculated from normalized percentages of hybridization; thermal-melting statistics, however, gave identical topologies for the well-supported clades. The most notable results were the association of the only extant microbiotheriid, Dromiciops australis, an American marsupial, with the Australasian Diprotodontia, and of both together with the Dasyuridae. Estimates of the rate of divergence among marsupial genomes suggest that the Dromiciops-Diprotodontia split occurred approximately 50 million years ago, well after the establishment of the major clades of marsupials but before deep oceanic barriers prohibited dispersal among Australia, Antarctica, and South America. Because Dromiciops is nested within an Australasian group, it seems likely that dispersal from Australia accounts for its present distribution. Images PMID:1961710

  15. Manipulation of the fertility of marsupials for conservation of endangered species and control of over-abundant populations.

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    Mate, K E; Molinia, F C; Rodger, J C

    1998-10-01

    Marsupials present a dichotomy in population management; the numbers of many Australian marsupial species have declined due to loss of habitat, competition from introduced herbivores and predation by introduced carnivores, but other species have become locally overabundant in Australia or are introduced pests in New Zealand. The manipulation of reproduction offers the means to increase or decrease productivity; however, considerable fundamental research is required before reproductive technologies can be applied to marsupials. Marsupials differ from eutherian mammals in several aspects of their reproduction including sex differentiation, gamete function and endocrinology, as well as in the relative lengths of gestation and lactation. Although these differences present unique problems in the application of reproductive technologies to marsupials, they also present unique opportunities for marsupial-specific fertility control. This paper summarises the assisted breeding technologies currently being applied to marsupials including superovulation, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization and gene banking; unique marsupial targets for contraceptive intervention including gamete production, sperm capacitation, gamete surface antigens and embryonic development; and some options for the delivery of contraceptive vaccines to marsupial populations.

  16. DNA hybridization evidence for the Australasian affinity of the American marsupial Dromiciops australis.

    OpenAIRE

    Kirsch, J A; Dickerman, A W; Reig, O A; Springer, M S

    1991-01-01

    DNA hybridization was used to compare representatives of the major groups of marsupials and a eutherian outgroup. Because of the large genetic distances separating marsupial families, trees were calculated from normalized percentages of hybridization; thermal-melting statistics, however, gave identical topologies for the well-supported clades. The most notable results were the association of the only extant microbiotheriid, Dromiciops australis, an American marsupial, with the Australasian Di...

  17. Locomotion and basicranial anatomy in primates and marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villamil, Catalina I

    2017-10-01

    There is ongoing debate in paleoanthropology about whether and how the anatomy of the cranium, and especially the cranial base, is evolving in response to locomotor and postural changes. However, the majority of studies focus on two-dimensional data, which fails to capture the complexity of cranial anatomy. This study tests whether three-dimensional cranial base anatomy is linked to locomotion or to other factors in primates (n = 473) and marsupials (n = 231). Results indicate that although there is a small effect of locomotion on cranial base anatomy in primates, this is not the case in marsupials. Instead, facial anatomy likely drives variation in cranial base anatomy in both primates and marsupials, with additional roles for body size and brain size. Although some changes to foramen magnum position and orientation are phylogenetically useful among the hominoids, they do not necessarily reflect locomotion or positional behavior. The interplay between locomotion, posture, and facial anatomy in primates requires further investigation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Behaviour of the Pleistocene marsupial lion deduced from claw marks in a southwestern Australian cave.

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    Arman, Samuel D; Prideaux, Gavin J

    2016-02-15

    The marsupial lion, Thylacoleo carnifex, was the largest-ever marsupial carnivore, and is one of the most iconic extinct Australian vertebrates. With a highly-specialised dentition, powerful forelimbs and a robust build, its overall morphology is not approached by any other mammal. However, despite >150 years of attention, fundamental aspects of its biology remain unresolved. Here we analyse an assemblage of claw marks preserved on surfaces in a cave and deduce that they were generated by marsupial lions. The distribution and skewed size range of claw marks within the cave elucidate two key aspects of marsupial lion biology: they were excellent climbers and reared young in caves. Scrutiny of >10,000 co-located Pleistocene bones reveals few if any marsupial lion tooth marks, which dovetails with the morphology-based interpretation of the species as a flesh specialist.

  19. Cone pigments in a North American marsupial, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana).

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    Jacobs, Gerald H; Williams, Gary A

    2010-05-01

    Only two of the four cone opsin gene families found in vertebrates are represented in contemporary eutherian and marsupial species. Recent genetic studies of two species of South American marsupial detected the presence of representatives from two of the classes of cone opsin genes and the structures of these genes predicted cone pigments with respective peaks in the ultraviolet and long-wavelength portions of the spectrum. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a profoundly nocturnal animal, is the only marsupial species found in North America. The prospects for cone-based vision in this species were examined through recordings of the electroretinogram (ERG), a commonly examined retinal response to photic stimulation. Recorded under flickering-light conditions that elicit signals from cone photoreceptors, the spectral sensitivity of the opossum eye is well accounted for by contributions from the presence of a single cone pigment having peak absorption at 561-562 nm. A series of additional experiments that employed various chromatic adaptation paradigms were conducted in a search for possible contributions from a second (short-wavelength sensitive) cone pigment. We found no evidence that such a mechanism contributes to the ERG in this marsupial.

  20. Gradients in cytoarchitectural landscapes of the isocortex: Diprotodont marsupials in comparison to eutherian mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charvet, Christine J; Stimpson, Cheryl D; Kim, Young Do; Raghanti, Mary Ann; Lewandowski, Albert H; Hof, Patrick R; Gómez-Robles, Aida; Krienen, Fenna M; Sherwood, Chet C

    2017-06-01

    Although it has been claimed that marsupials possess a lower density of isocortical neurons compared with other mammals, little is known about cross-cortical variation in neuron distributions in this diverse taxonomic group. We quantified upper-layer (layers II-IV) and lower-layer (layers V-VI) neuron numbers per unit of cortical surface area in three diprotodont marsupial species (two macropodiformes, the red kangaroo and the parma wallaby, and a vombatiform, the koala) and compared these results to eutherian mammals (e.g., xenarthrans, rodents, primates). In contrast to the notion that the marsupial isocortex contains a low density of neurons, we found that neuron numbers per unit of cortical surface area in several marsupial species overlap with those found in eutherian mammals. Furthermore, neuron numbers vary systematically across the isocortex of the marsupial mammals examined. Neuron numbers under a unit of cortical surface area are low toward the frontal cortex and high toward the caudo-medial (occipital) pole. Upper-layer neurons (i.e., layers II-IV) account for most of the variation in neuron numbers across the isocortex. The variation in neuron numbers across the rostral to the caudal pole resembles primates. These findings suggest that diprotodont marsupials and eutherian mammals share a similar cortical architecture despite their distant evolutionary divergence. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Cone pigments in a North American marsupial, the opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

    OpenAIRE

    Jacobs, Gerald H.; Williams, Gary A.

    2010-01-01

    Only two of the four cone opsin gene families found in vertebrates are represented in contemporary eutherian and marsupial species. Recent genetic studies of two species of South American marsupial detected the presence of representatives from two of the classes of cone opsin genes and the structures of these genes predicted cone pigments with respective peaks in the ultraviolet and long-wavelength portions of the spectrum. The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a profoundly nocturnal a...

  2. Scaling of cerebral blood perfusion in primates and marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seymour, Roger S; Angove, Sophie E; Snelling, Edward P; Cassey, Phillip

    2015-08-01

    The evolution of primates involved increasing body size, brain size and presumably cognitive ability. Cognition is related to neural activity, metabolic rate and rate of blood flow to the cerebral cortex. These parameters are difficult to quantify in living animals. This study shows that it is possible to determine the rate of cortical brain perfusion from the size of the internal carotid artery foramina in skulls of certain mammals, including haplorrhine primates and diprotodont marsupials. We quantify combined blood flow rate in both internal carotid arteries as a proxy of brain metabolism in 34 species of haplorrhine primates (0.116-145 kg body mass) and compare it to the same analysis for 19 species of diprotodont marsupials (0.014-46 kg). Brain volume is related to body mass by essentially the same exponent of 0.70 in both groups. Flow rate increases with haplorrhine brain volume to the 0.95 power, which is significantly higher than the exponent (0.75) expected for most organs according to 'Kleiber's Law'. By comparison, the exponent is 0.73 in marsupials. Thus, the brain perfusion rate increases with body size and brain size much faster in primates than in marsupials. The trajectory of cerebral perfusion in primates is set by the phylogenetically older groups (New and Old World monkeys, lesser apes) and the phylogenetically younger groups (great apes, including humans) fall near the line, with the highest perfusion. This may be associated with disproportionate increases in cortical surface area and mental capacity in the highly social, larger primates. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  3. Occurrence of pasteurellaceae bacteria in the oral cavity of selected marsupial species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Mie Johanne; Bertelsen, Mads F.; Kelly, Androo

    2017-01-01

    Eighty-two Pasteurellaceae isolates from marsupials characterized by phylogenetic analysis of rpoB gene sequences formed five distinct groups. Twenty-one strains from long-nosed potoroos (Potorous tridactylus apicalis), spotted-tailed quolls (Dasyurus maculatus), and eastern quolls (Dasyurus vive...... and clustered with 15 previously described Tasmanian devil strains, belonging to a yet unnamed Pasteurellaceae taxon. The results strongly indicate that Pasteurellaceae bacteria represent a part of the normal oral microbiota in marsupials....

  4. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in wild rodents and marsupials from the Atlantic Forest, state of São Paulo, Brazil

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    Solange Maria Gennari

    Full Text Available Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that infects a large spectrum of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Small rodents and marsupials play an important role in the epidemiology of T. gondii because they are sources of infection for domestic and feral cats. Serum samples from 151 rodents and 48 marsupials, captured in the Atlantic Forest, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil, were analyzed for the presence of T. gondii antibodies. Antibodies detected by the modified agglutination test (MAT ≥ 25 were found in 8.6% (13/151 of the rodents and 10.4% (5/48 of the marsupials, with titers ranging from 25 to 6400 and from 25 to 3200, respectively for the rodents and marsupials. Three of the eight species of rodents (Akodon spp., Oligoryzomys nigripesand Rattus norvegicus, and one from the four marsupial species (Didelphis aurita presented positive animals. T. gondii was described for the first time in the rodent Oligoryzomys nigripes.

  5. PERAWATAN MUCOCELE PADA ANAK DENGAN TEHNIK MICRO MARSUPIALIZATION (Laporan Kasus

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    Enrita Dian Rahmadini

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Mucocele resprented as a lesion that usually happened as an effet of accumulation and extravasation of secret minor salivary gland dof cheek and lip, which gave clinical feature like a bubble of mucosa. This lesion commonly caused by the effect of continuous trauma. Treatment of mucocele was surgery, e.g. excision marsupialization, cryosurgery and ablation by laser. The treatment for mucocele in children was more complex because problem of behavior during treatment so it can be conducted with a few modification without causing trauma. With micro marsupialization or cordage at the handle of mucocele, hence difficulty of excision mucocele in a child can be overcome, although the child is not cooperative.

  6. Forelimb preferences in quadrupedal marsupials and their implications for laterality evolution in mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Acquisition of upright posture in evolution has been argued to facilitate manual laterality in primates. Owing to the high variety of postural habits marsupials can serve as a suitable model to test whether the species-typical body posture shapes forelimb preferences in non-primates or this phenomenon emerged only in the course of primate evolution. In the present study we aimed to explore manual laterality in marsupial quadrupeds and compare them with the results in the previously studied bipedal species. Forelimb preferences were assessed in captive grey short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) and sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) in four different types of unimanual behaviour per species, which was not artificially evoked. We examined the possible effects of sex, age and task, because these factors have been reported to affect motor laterality in placental mammals. Results In both species the direction of forelimb preferences was strongly sex-related. Male grey short-tailed opossums showed right-forelimb preference in most of the observed unimanual behaviours, while male sugar gliders displayed only a slight, not significant rightward tendency. In contrast, females in both species exhibited consistent group-level preference of the left forelimb. We failed to reveal significant differences in manual preferences between tasks of potentially differing complexity: reaching a stable food item and catching live insects, as well as between the body support and food manipulation. No influence of subjects’ age on limb preferences was found. Conclusions The direction of sex-related differences in the manual preferences found in quadrupedal marsupials seems to be not typical for placental mammals. We suggest that the alternative way of interhemispheric connection in absence of corpus callosum may result in a fundamentally distinct mechanism of sex effect on limb preferences in marsupials compared to placentals. Our data confirm the idea that non

  7. Reconstructing an ancestral mammalian immune supercomplex from a marsupial major histocompatibility complex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine Belov

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available The first sequenced marsupial genome promises to reveal unparalleled insights into mammalian evolution. We have used the Monodelphis domestica (gray short-tailed opossum sequence to construct the first map of a marsupial major histocompatibility complex (MHC. The MHC is the most gene-dense region of the mammalian genome and is critical to immunity and reproductive success. The marsupial MHC bridges the phylogenetic gap between the complex MHC of eutherian mammals and the minimal essential MHC of birds. Here we show that the opossum MHC is gene dense and complex, as in humans, but shares more organizational features with non-mammals. The Class I genes have amplified within the Class II region, resulting in a unique Class I/II region. We present a model of the organization of the MHC in ancestral mammals and its elaboration during mammalian evolution. The opossum genome, together with other extant genomes, reveals the existence of an ancestral "immune supercomplex" that contained genes of both types of natural killer receptors together with antigen processing genes and MHC genes.

  8. Diversity in parasitic helminths of Australasian marsupials and monotremes: a molecular perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beveridge, Ian; Gasser, Robin B

    2014-10-15

    Marsupials and monotremes are a prominent part of the mammalian fauna in Australia, and harbour an extremely diverse and highly distinctive array of helminth parasites. Their study has been relatively neglected, likely because they have no direct, adverse socioeconomic impact. As the body plans of helminths generally are very simple and morphological characterisation likely underestimates true diversity, molecular tools have been employed to assess genetic diversity. Using biochemical and/or molecular methods, recent studies show extensive diversity in helminths of marsupials, with cryptic species being commonly encountered. The purpose of this article is to review current knowledge about the diversity of parasitic helminths of marsupials and monotremes, to raise questions as to whether current molecular data can be used to estimate diversity, what mechanisms lead to such diversity, to critically appraise the molecular tools that have been employed thus far to explore diversity and to discuss the directions which might be taken in the future employing improved techniques. Copyright © 2014 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Fiber Optic Shape Sensing for Tethered Marsupial Rovers, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Building upon the successful proof of concept work in Phase I, Luna Innovations Incorporated is proposing to design, build, and test a sensing tether for marsupial...

  10. The oldest modern therian mammal from Europe and its bearing on stem marsupial paleobiogeography

    OpenAIRE

    Vullo , Romain; Gheerbrant , E.; Muizon , Chri; Neraudeau , Didier

    2009-01-01

    International audience; We report the discovery of mammalian tribosphenic teeth from the basal Cenomanian of southwestern France that we refer to a new primitive marsupial-like form identified as a basal taxon of Mar- supialiformes, a new clade recognized here to include the crown group Marsupialia and primitive stem lineages more closely related to Marsupialia than to Deltatheroida. Arcantiodelphys marchandi gen et sp nov. shares several significant marsupial-like features (s.l.) with marsup...

  11. Selection, diversity and evolutionary patterns of the MHC class II DAB in free-ranging Neotropical marsupials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Otten Celine

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research on the genetic architecture and diversity of the MHC has focused mainly on eutherian mammals, birds and fish. So far, studies on model marsupials used in laboratory investigations indicated very little or even no variation in MHC class II genes. However, natural levels of diversity and selection are unknown in marsupials as studies on wild populations are virtually absent. We used two endemic South American mouse opossums, Gracilinanus microtarsus and Marmosops incanus, to investigate characteristic features of MHC selection. This study is the first investigation of MHC selection in free-ranging Neotropical marsupials. In addition, the evolutionary history of MHC lineages within the group of marsupials was examined. Results G. microtarsus showed extensive levels of MHC diversity within and among individuals as 47 MHC-DAB alleles and high levels of sequence divergence were detected at a minimum of four loci. Positively selected codon sites were identified, of which most were congruent with human antigen binding sites. The diversity in M. incanus was rather low with only eight observed alleles at presumably two loci. However, these alleles also revealed high sequence divergence. Again, positive selection was identified on specific codon sites, all congruent with human ABS and with positively selected sites observed in G. microtarsus. In a phylogenetic comparison alleles of M. incanus interspersed widely within alleles of G. microtarsus with four alleles being present in both species. Conclusion Our investigations revealed extensive MHC class II polymorphism in a natural marsupial population, contrary to previous assumptions. Furthermore, our study confirms for the first time in marsupials the presence of three characteristic features common at MHC loci of eutherian mammals, birds and fish: large allelic sequence divergence, positive selection on specific sites and trans-specific polymorphism.

  12. The effects of wildfire on mortality and resources for an arboreal marsupial: resilience to fire events but susceptibility to fire regime change.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sam C Banks

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Big environmental disturbances have big ecological effects, yet these are not always what we might expect. Understanding the proximate effects of major disturbances, such as severe wildfires, on individuals, populations and habitats will be essential for understanding how predicted future increases in the frequency of such disturbances will affect ecosystems. However, researchers rarely have access to data from immediately before and after such events. Here we report on the effects of a severe and extensive forest wildfire on mortality, reproductive output and availability of key shelter resources for an arboreal marsupial. We also investigated the behavioural response of individuals to changed shelter resource availability in the post-fire environment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We fitted proximity-logging radiotransmitters to mountain brushtail possums (Trichosurus cunninghami before, during and after the 2009 wildfires in Victoria, Australia. Surprisingly, we detected no mortality associated with the fire, and despite a significant post-fire decrease in the proportion of females carrying pouch young in the burnt area, there was no short-term post-fire population decline. The major consequence of this fire for mountain brushtail possums was the loss of over 80% of hollow-bearing trees. The types of trees preferred as shelter sites (highly decayed dead standing trees were those most likely to collapse after fire. Individuals adapted to resource decline by being more flexible in resource selection after the fire, but not by increased resource sharing. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite short-term demographic resilience and behavioural adaptation following this fire, the major loss of decayed hollow trees suggests the increased frequency of stand-replacing wildfires predicted under climate change will pose major challenges for shelter resource availability for hollow-dependent fauna. Hollow-bearing trees are typically biological

  13. The Effects of Wildfire on Mortality and Resources for an Arboreal Marsupial: Resilience to Fire Events but Susceptibility to Fire Regime Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Sam C.; Knight, Emma J.; McBurney, Lachlan; Blair, David; Lindenmayer, David B.

    2011-01-01

    Background Big environmental disturbances have big ecological effects, yet these are not always what we might expect. Understanding the proximate effects of major disturbances, such as severe wildfires, on individuals, populations and habitats will be essential for understanding how predicted future increases in the frequency of such disturbances will affect ecosystems. However, researchers rarely have access to data from immediately before and after such events. Here we report on the effects of a severe and extensive forest wildfire on mortality, reproductive output and availability of key shelter resources for an arboreal marsupial. We also investigated the behavioural response of individuals to changed shelter resource availability in the post-fire environment. Methodology/Principal Findings We fitted proximity-logging radiotransmitters to mountain brushtail possums (Trichosurus cunninghami) before, during and after the 2009 wildfires in Victoria, Australia. Surprisingly, we detected no mortality associated with the fire, and despite a significant post-fire decrease in the proportion of females carrying pouch young in the burnt area, there was no short-term post-fire population decline. The major consequence of this fire for mountain brushtail possums was the loss of over 80% of hollow-bearing trees. The types of trees preferred as shelter sites (highly decayed dead standing trees) were those most likely to collapse after fire. Individuals adapted to resource decline by being more flexible in resource selection after the fire, but not by increased resource sharing. Conclusions/Significance Despite short-term demographic resilience and behavioural adaptation following this fire, the major loss of decayed hollow trees suggests the increased frequency of stand-replacing wildfires predicted under climate change will pose major challenges for shelter resource availability for hollow-dependent fauna. Hollow-bearing trees are typically biological legacies of previous

  14. Radiographic monitoring of healing process of buccal bifurcation cysts after marsupialization: two cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Suk Ja; Kang, Byung Cheol

    2004-01-01

    This report is to show healing process of two cases of buccal bifurcation cyst (BBC) developed from the mandibular deciduous second molars. Extracting the involved deciduous teeth led to marsupialization of the cysts and promoted eruption of the associated successors without orthodontic force. The cyst-associated premolars in the two cases erupted faster than the premolars on the contralateral noncyst side. The cysts were completely filled with normal bone. The monitoring radiographs showed bone healing, root formation, and path of eruption of the associated teeth after marsupialization of BBC.

  15. Radiographic monitoring of healing process of buccal bifurcation cysts after marsupialization: two cases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoon, Suk Ja; Kang, Byung Cheol [Chonnam National University College of Medicine, Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-12-15

    This report is to show healing process of two cases of buccal bifurcation cyst (BBC) developed from the mandibular deciduous second molars. Extracting the involved deciduous teeth led to marsupialization of the cysts and promoted eruption of the associated successors without orthodontic force. The cyst-associated premolars in the two cases erupted faster than the premolars on the contralateral noncyst side. The cysts were completely filled with normal bone. The monitoring radiographs showed bone healing, root formation, and path of eruption of the associated teeth after marsupialization of BBC.

  16. Electronic Resource Management and Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrams, Kimberly R.

    2015-01-01

    We have now reached a tipping point at which electronic resources comprise more than half of academic library budgets. Because of the increasing work associated with the ever-increasing number of e-resources, there is a trend to distribute work throughout the library even in the presence of an electronic resources department. In 2013, the author…

  17. Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Herpesvirus Infection in Populations of Australian Marsupials.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathryn Stalder

    Full Text Available Herpesviruses have been reported in several marsupial species, but molecular classification has been limited to four herpesviruses in macropodids, a gammaherpesvirus in two antechinus species (Antechinus flavipes and Antechinus agilis, a gammaherpesvirus in a potoroid, the eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi and two gammaherpesviruses in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus. In this study we examined a range of Australian marsupials for the presence of herpesviruses using molecular and serological techniques, and also assessed risk factors associated with herpesvirus infection. Our study population included 99 koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus, 96 eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus, 50 Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii and 33 common wombats (Vombatus ursinius. In total, six novel herpesviruses (one alphaherpesvirus and five gammaherpesviruses were identified in various host species. The overall prevalence of detection of herpesvirus DNA in our study population was 27.2% (95% confidence interval (CI of 22.6-32.2%, but this varied between species and reached as high as 45.4% (95% CI 28.1-63.7% in common wombats. Serum antibodies to two closely related macropodid herpesviruses (macropodid herpesvirus 1 and 2 were detected in 44.3% (95% CI 33.1-55.9% of animals tested. This also varied between species and was as high as 92% (95% CI 74.0-99.0% in eastern grey kangaroos. A number of epidemiological variables were identified as positive predictors for the presence of herpesvirus DNA in the marsupial samples evaluated. The most striking association was observed in koalas, where the presence of Chlamydia pecorum DNA was strongly associated with the presence of herpesvirus DNA (Odds Ratio = 60, 95% CI 12.1-297.8. Our results demonstrate the common presence of herpesviruses in Australian marsupials and provide directions for future research.

  18. Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Herpesvirus Infection in Populations of Australian Marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stalder, Kathryn; Vaz, Paola K; Gilkerson, James R; Baker, Rupert; Whiteley, Pam; Ficorilli, Nino; Tatarczuch, Liliana; Portas, Timothy; Skogvold, Kim; Anderson, Garry A; Devlin, Joanne M

    2015-01-01

    Herpesviruses have been reported in several marsupial species, but molecular classification has been limited to four herpesviruses in macropodids, a gammaherpesvirus in two antechinus species (Antechinus flavipes and Antechinus agilis), a gammaherpesvirus in a potoroid, the eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) and two gammaherpesviruses in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). In this study we examined a range of Australian marsupials for the presence of herpesviruses using molecular and serological techniques, and also assessed risk factors associated with herpesvirus infection. Our study population included 99 koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), 96 eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), 50 Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and 33 common wombats (Vombatus ursinius). In total, six novel herpesviruses (one alphaherpesvirus and five gammaherpesviruses) were identified in various host species. The overall prevalence of detection of herpesvirus DNA in our study population was 27.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) of 22.6-32.2%), but this varied between species and reached as high as 45.4% (95% CI 28.1-63.7%) in common wombats. Serum antibodies to two closely related macropodid herpesviruses (macropodid herpesvirus 1 and 2) were detected in 44.3% (95% CI 33.1-55.9%) of animals tested. This also varied between species and was as high as 92% (95% CI 74.0-99.0%) in eastern grey kangaroos. A number of epidemiological variables were identified as positive predictors for the presence of herpesvirus DNA in the marsupial samples evaluated. The most striking association was observed in koalas, where the presence of Chlamydia pecorum DNA was strongly associated with the presence of herpesvirus DNA (Odds Ratio = 60, 95% CI 12.1-297.8). Our results demonstrate the common presence of herpesviruses in Australian marsupials and provide directions for future research.

  19. Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Herpesvirus Infection in Populations of Australian Marsupials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stalder, Kathryn; Vaz, Paola K.; Gilkerson, James R.; Baker, Rupert; Whiteley, Pam; Ficorilli, Nino; Tatarczuch, Liliana; Portas, Timothy; Skogvold, Kim; Anderson, Garry A.; Devlin, Joanne M.

    2015-01-01

    Herpesviruses have been reported in several marsupial species, but molecular classification has been limited to four herpesviruses in macropodids, a gammaherpesvirus in two antechinus species (Antechinus flavipes and Antechinus agilis), a gammaherpesvirus in a potoroid, the eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) and two gammaherpesviruses in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). In this study we examined a range of Australian marsupials for the presence of herpesviruses using molecular and serological techniques, and also assessed risk factors associated with herpesvirus infection. Our study population included 99 koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), 96 eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), 50 Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and 33 common wombats (Vombatus ursinius). In total, six novel herpesviruses (one alphaherpesvirus and five gammaherpesviruses) were identified in various host species. The overall prevalence of detection of herpesvirus DNA in our study population was 27.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) of 22.6–32.2%), but this varied between species and reached as high as 45.4% (95% CI 28.1–63.7%) in common wombats. Serum antibodies to two closely related macropodid herpesviruses (macropodid herpesvirus 1 and 2) were detected in 44.3% (95% CI 33.1–55.9%) of animals tested. This also varied between species and was as high as 92% (95% CI 74.0–99.0%) in eastern grey kangaroos. A number of epidemiological variables were identified as positive predictors for the presence of herpesvirus DNA in the marsupial samples evaluated. The most striking association was observed in koalas, where the presence of Chlamydia pecorum DNA was strongly associated with the presence of herpesvirus DNA (Odds Ratio = 60, 95% CI 12.1–297.8). Our results demonstrate the common presence of herpesviruses in Australian marsupials and provide directions for future research. PMID:26222660

  20. Ontogenetic polychromatism in marsupial frogs (Anura: Hylidae Ontogenetic polychromatism in marsupial frogs (Anura: Hylidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duellman William E.

    1986-12-01

    Full Text Available Color polymorphism is common in many species of marsupial frogs.  Extreme cases of pattern polymorphism are documented in four species. In Amphignathodon guentheri, Castrotheca aureomaculata, G. qriswoldi, and G. helenae juveniles are known to have only one color morph, where as two or more patterns exist in adults. In these species, polymorphism apparently develops ontogenetically. El polimorfismo cromático es común a algunas especies de sapos marsupiales. Casos extremos del modelo de polimorfismo son evidentes en cuatro especies Amphignathodon guentheri, Gastrotheca aureomaculata, G. griswoldi, y G. helenae. En estas especies, se sabe que los juveniles tienen sólo un morfo de color; el polimorfismo, al parecer, se desarrolla ontogenéticamente.

  1. Inducing sex reversal of the urogenital system of marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renfree, Marilyn B; Chew, Keng Yih; Shaw, Geoff

    2014-01-01

    Marsupials differ from eutherian mammals in their reproductive strategy of delivering a highly altricial young after a short gestation. The young, with its undeveloped organ systems completes its development post-natally, usually within a pouch. The young is dependent on milk with a composition that varies through lactation to support its growth and changing needs as it matures over a lengthy period. Gonadal differentiation occurs after birth, providing a unique opportunity to examine the effects of hormonal manipulations on its sexual differentiation of the highly accessible young. In marsupials a difference in the migration of the urinary ducts around the genital ducts from eutherian mammals results in the unique tammar reproductive tract which has three vaginae and two cervices, and two distinctly separate uteri. In the tammar wallaby, a small member of the kangaroo family, we showed that virilisation of the Wolffian duct, prostate and phallus depends on an alternate androgen pathway, which has now been shown to be important for virilisation in humans. Through hormonal manipulations over differing time periods we have achieved sex reversal of both ovaries and testes, germ cells, genital ducts, prostate and phallus. Whilst we understand many of the mechanisms behind sexual differentiation there are still many lessons to be learned from understanding how sex reversal is achieved by using a model such as the tammar wallaby. This will help guide investigations into the major questions of how and why sex determination is achieved in other species. This review discusses the control and development of the marsupial urogenital system, largely drawn from our studies in the tammar wallaby and our ability to manipulate this system to induce sex reversal. Copyright © 2013 International Society of Differentiation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Trophic Niche Differentiation in Rodents and Marsupials Revealed by Stable Isotopes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauro Galetti

    Full Text Available Tropical rainforests support the greatest diversity of small mammals in the world, yet we have little understanding about the mechanisms that promote the coexistence of species. Diet partitioning can favor coexistence by lessening competition, and interspecific differences in body size and habitat use are usually proposed to be associated with trophic divergence. However, the use of classic dietary methods (e.g. stomach contents is challenging in small mammals, particularly in community-level studies, thus we used stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N to infer about trophic niche. We investigated i how trophic niche is partitioned among rodent and marsupial species in three Atlantic forest sites and ii if interspecific body size and locomotor habit inequalities can constitute mechanisms underlying the isotopic niche partitioning. We found that rodents occupied a broad isotopic niche space with species distributed in different trophic levels and relying on diverse basal carbon sources (C3 and C4 plants. Surprisingly, on the other hand, marsupials showed a narrow isotopic niche, both in δ13C and δ15N dimensions, which is partially overlapped with rodents, contradicting their description as omnivores and generalists proposed classic dietary studies. Although body mass differences did not explained the divergence in isotopic values among species, groups of species with different locomotor habit presented clear differences in the position of the isotopic niche space, indicating that the use of different forest strata can favor trophic niche partitioning in small mammals communities. We suggest that anthropogenic impacts, such as habitat modification (logging, harvesting, can simplify the vertical structure of ecosystems and collapse the diversity of basal resources, which might affect negatively small mammals communities in Atlantic forests.

  3. Mammals from ‘down under’: a multi-gene species-level phylogeny of marsupial mammals (Mammalia, Metatheria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura J. May-Collado

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Marsupials or metatherians are a group of mammals that are distinct in giving birth to young at early stages of development and in having a prolonged investment in lactation. The group consists of nearly 350 extant species, including kangaroos, koala, possums, and their relatives. Marsupials are an old lineage thought to have diverged from early therian mammals some 160 million years ago in the Jurassic, and have a remarkable evolutionary and biogeographical history, with extant species restricted to the Americas, mostly South America, and to Australasia. Although the group has been the subject of decades of phylogenetic research, the marsupial tree of life remains controversial, with most studies focusing on only a fraction of the species diversity within the infraclass. Here we present the first Methaterian species-level phylogeny to include 80% of the extant marsupial species and five nuclear and five mitochondrial markers obtained from Genbank and a recently published retroposon matrix. Our primary goal is to provide a summary phylogeny that will serve as a tool for comparative research. We evaluate the extent to which the phylogeny recovers current phylogenetic knowledge based on the recovery of “benchmark clades” from prior studies—unambiguously supported key clades and undisputed traditional taxonomic groups. The Bayesian phylogenetic analyses recovered nearly all benchmark clades but failed to find support for the suborder Phalagiformes. The most significant difference with previous published topologies is the support for Australidelphia as a group containing Microbiotheriidae, nested within American marsupials. However, a likelihood ratio test shows that alternative topologies with monophyletic Australidelphia and Ameridelphia are not significantly different than the preferred tree. Although further data are needed to solidify understanding of Methateria phylogeny, the new phylogenetic hypothesis provided here offers a well

  4. Lactation transcriptomics in the Australian marsupial, Macropus eugenii: transcript sequencing and quantification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Whitley Jane C

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Lactation is an important aspect of mammalian biology and, amongst mammals, marsupials show one of the most complex lactation cycles. Marsupials, such as the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii give birth to a relatively immature newborn and progressive changes in milk composition and milk production regulate early stage development of the young. Results In order to investigate gene expression in the marsupial mammary gland during lactation, a comprehensive set of cDNA libraries was derived from lactating tissues throughout the lactation cycle of the tammar wallaby. A total of 14,837 express sequence tags were produced by cDNA sequencing. Sequence analysis and sequence assembly were used to construct a comprehensive catalogue of mammary transcripts. Sequence data from pregnant and early or late lactating specific cDNA libraries and, data from early or late lactation massively parallel sequencing strategies were combined to analyse the variation of milk protein gene expression during the lactation cycle. Conclusion Results show a steady increase in expression of genes coding for secreted protein during the lactation cycle that is associated with high proportion of transcripts coding for milk proteins. In addition, genes involved in immune function, translation and energy or anabolic metabolism are expressed across the lactation cycle. A number of potential new milk proteins or mammary gland remodelling markers, including noncoding RNAs have been identified.

  5. The ancestral chromosomes of Dromiciops gliroides (Microbiotheridae), and its bearings on the karyotypic evolution of American marsupials

    OpenAIRE

    Su?rez-Villota, Elkin Y.; Haro, Ronie E.; Vargas, Rodrigo A.; Gallardo, Milton H.

    2016-01-01

    Background The low-numbered 14-chromosome karyotype of marsupials has falsified the fusion hypothesis claiming ancestrality from a 22-chromosome karyotype. Since the 14-chromosome condition of the relict Dromiciops gliroides is reminecent of ancestrality, its interstitial traces of past putative fusions and heterochromatin banding patterns were studied and added to available marsupials? cytogenetic data. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and self-genomic in situ hybridization (self-GIS...

  6. The mammary gland-specific marsupial ELP and eutherian CTI share a common ancestral gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pharo, Elizabeth A; De Leo, Alison A; Renfree, Marilyn B; Thomson, Peter C; Lefèvre, Christophe M; Nicholas, Kevin R

    2012-06-08

    The marsupial early lactation protein (ELP) gene is expressed in the mammary gland and the protein is secreted into milk during early lactation (Phase 2A). Mature ELP shares approximately 55.4% similarity with the colostrum-specific bovine colostrum trypsin inhibitor (CTI) protein. Although ELP and CTI both have a single bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI)-Kunitz domain and are secreted only during the early lactation phases, their evolutionary history is yet to be investigated. Tammar ELP was isolated from a genomic library and the fat-tailed dunnart and Southern koala ELP genes cloned from genomic DNA. The tammar ELP gene was expressed only in the mammary gland during late pregnancy (Phase 1) and early lactation (Phase 2A). The opossum and fat-tailed dunnart ELP and cow CTI transcripts were cloned from RNA isolated from the mammary gland and dog CTI from cells in colostrum. The putative mature ELP and CTI peptides shared 44.6%-62.2% similarity. In silico analyses identified the ELP and CTI genes in the other species examined and provided compelling evidence that they evolved from a common ancestral gene. In addition, whilst the eutherian CTI gene was conserved in the Laurasiatherian orders Carnivora and Cetartiodactyla, it had become a pseudogene in others. These data suggest that bovine CTI may be the ancestral gene of the Artiodactyla-specific, rapidly evolving chromosome 13 pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (PTI), spleen trypsin inhibitor (STI) and the five placenta-specific trophoblast Kunitz domain protein (TKDP1-5) genes. Marsupial ELP and eutherian CTI evolved from an ancestral therian mammal gene before the divergence of marsupials and eutherians between 130 and 160 million years ago. The retention of the ELP gene in marsupials suggests that this early lactation-specific milk protein may have an important role in the immunologically naïve young of these species.

  7. Electronic Resource Management Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Ellingsen

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Computer applications which deal with electronic resource management (ERM are quite a recent development. They have grown out of the need to manage the burgeoning number of electronic resources particularly electronic journals. Typically, in the early years of e-journal acquisition, library staff provided an easy means of accessing these journals by providing an alphabetical list on a web page. Some went as far as categorising the e-journals by subject and then grouping the journals either on a single web page or by using multiple pages. It didn't take long before it was recognised that it would be more efficient to dynamically generate the pages from a database rather than to continually edit the pages manually. Of course, once the descriptive metadata for an electronic journal was held within a database the next logical step was to provide administrative forms whereby that metadata could be manipulated. This in turn led to demands for incorporating more information and more functionality into the developing application.

  8. Extensive production of Neospora caninum tissue cysts in a carnivorous marsupial succumbing to experimental neosporosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    King Jessica S

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Experimental infections of Sminthopsis crassicaudata, the fat-tailed dunnart, a carnivorous marsupial widely distributed throughout the arid and semi-arid zones of Australia, show that this species can act as an intermediate host for Neospora caninum. In contrast to existing models that develop relatively few N. caninum tissue cysts, dunnarts offer a new animal model in which active neosporosis is dominated by tissue cyst production. The results provide evidence for a sylvatic life cycle of N. caninum in Australia between marsupials and wild dogs. It establishes the foundation for an investigation of the impact and costs of neosporosis to wildlife.

  9. Electronic Resources Management Project Presentation 2012

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2012-11-05

    This presentation describes the electronic resources management project undertaken by the KAUST library. The objectives of this project is to migrate information from MS Sharepoint to Millennium ERM module. One of the advantages of this migration is to consolidate all electronic resources into a single and centralized location. This would allow for better information sharing among library staff.

  10. PRINCIPLES OF CONTENT FORMATION EDUCATIONAL ELECTRONIC RESOURCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О Ю Заславская

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers modern possibilities of information and communication technologies for the design of electronic educational resources. The conceptual basis of the open educational multimedia system is based on the modular architecture of the electronic educational resource. The content of the electronic training module can be implemented in several versions of the modules: obtaining information, practical exercises, control. The regularities in the teaching process in modern pedagogical theory are considered: general and specific, and the principles for the formation of the content of instruction at different levels are defined, based on the formulated regularities. On the basis of the analysis, the principles of the formation of the electronic educational resource are determined, taking into account the general and didactic patterns of teaching.As principles of the formation of educational material for obtaining information for the electronic educational resource, the article considers: the principle of methodological orientation, the principle of general scientific orientation, the principle of systemic nature, the principle of fundamentalization, the principle of accounting intersubject communications, the principle of minimization. The principles of the formation of the electronic training module of practical studies in the article include: the principle of systematic and dose based consistency, the principle of rational use of study time, the principle of accessibility. The principles of the formation of the module for monitoring the electronic educational resource can be: the principle of the operationalization of goals, the principle of unified identification diagnosis.

  11. Genomic imprinting of IGF2 in marsupials is methylation dependent

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imumorin Ikhide

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background- Parent-specific methylation of specific CpG residues is critical to imprinting in eutherian mammals, but its importance to imprinting in marsupials and, thus, the evolutionary origins of the imprinting mechanism have been the subject of controversy. This has been particularly true for the imprinted Insulin-like Growth Factor II (IGF2, a key regulator of embryonic growth in vertebrates and a focal point of the selective forces leading to genomic imprinting. The presence of the essential imprinting effector, DNMT3L, in marsupial genomes and the demonstration of a differentially methylated region (DMR in the retrotransposon-derived imprinted gene, PEG10, in tammar wallaby argue for a role for methylation in imprinting, but several studies have found no evidence of parent-specific methylation at other imprinted loci in marsupials. Results- We performed the most extensive search to date for allele-specific patterns of CpG methylation within CpG isochores or CpG enriched segments across a 22 kilobase region surrounding the IGF2 gene in the South American opossum Monodelphis domestica. We identified a previously unknown 5'-untranslated exon for opossum IGF2, which is flanked by sequences defining a putative neonatal promoter, a DMR and an active Matrix Attachment Region (MAR. Demethylation of this DMR in opossum neonatal fibroblasts results in abherrant biallelic expression of IGF2. Conclusion- The demonstration of a DMR and an active MAR in the 5' flank of opossum IGF2 mirrors the regulatory features of the 5' flank of Igf2 in mice. However, demethylation induced activation of the maternal allele of IGF2 in opossum differs from the demethylation induced repression of the paternal Igf2 allele in mice. While it can now be concluded that parent-specific DNA methylation is an epigentic mark common to Marsupialia and Eutheria, the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional silencing at imprinted loci have clearly evolved along independent

  12. Implementing CORAL: An Electronic Resource Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitfield, Sharon

    2011-01-01

    A 2010 electronic resource management survey conducted by Maria Collins of North Carolina State University and Jill E. Grogg of University of Alabama Libraries found that the top six electronic resources management priorities included workflow management, communications management, license management, statistics management, administrative…

  13. The mammary gland-specific marsupial ELP and eutherian CTI share a common ancestral gene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pharo Elizabeth A

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The marsupial early lactation protein (ELP gene is expressed in the mammary gland and the protein is secreted into milk during early lactation (Phase 2A. Mature ELP shares approximately 55.4% similarity with the colostrum-specific bovine colostrum trypsin inhibitor (CTI protein. Although ELP and CTI both have a single bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI-Kunitz domain and are secreted only during the early lactation phases, their evolutionary history is yet to be investigated. Results Tammar ELP was isolated from a genomic library and the fat-tailed dunnart and Southern koala ELP genes cloned from genomic DNA. The tammar ELP gene was expressed only in the mammary gland during late pregnancy (Phase 1 and early lactation (Phase 2A. The opossum and fat-tailed dunnart ELP and cow CTI transcripts were cloned from RNA isolated from the mammary gland and dog CTI from cells in colostrum. The putative mature ELP and CTI peptides shared 44.6%-62.2% similarity. In silico analyses identified the ELP and CTI genes in the other species examined and provided compelling evidence that they evolved from a common ancestral gene. In addition, whilst the eutherian CTI gene was conserved in the Laurasiatherian orders Carnivora and Cetartiodactyla, it had become a pseudogene in others. These data suggest that bovine CTI may be the ancestral gene of the Artiodactyla-specific, rapidly evolving chromosome 13 pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (PTI, spleen trypsin inhibitor (STI and the five placenta-specific trophoblast Kunitz domain protein (TKDP1-5 genes. Conclusions Marsupial ELP and eutherian CTI evolved from an ancestral therian mammal gene before the divergence of marsupials and eutherians between 130 and 160 million years ago. The retention of the ELP gene in marsupials suggests that this early lactation-specific milk protein may have an important role in the immunologically naïve young of these species.

  14. Managing electronic resources a LITA guide

    CERN Document Server

    Weir, Ryan O

    2012-01-01

    Informative, useful, current, Managing Electronic Resources: A LITA Guide shows how to successfully manage time, resources, and relationships with vendors and staff to ensure personal, professional, and institutional success.

  15. Energy in-equivalence in Australian marsupials: evidence for disruption of the continent's mammal assemblage, or are rules meant to be broken?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam J Munn

    Full Text Available The energy equivalence rule (EER is a macroecological hypothesis that posits that total population energy use (PEU should be independent of species body mass, because population densities and energy metabolisms scale with body mass in a directly inverse manner. However, evidence supporting the EER is equivocal, and the use of basal metabolic rate (BMR in such studies has been questioned; ecologically-relevant indices like field metabolic rate (FMR are probably more appropriate. In this regard, Australian marsupials present a novel test for the EER because, unlike eutherians, marsupial BMRs and FMRs scale differently with body mass. Based on either FMR or BMR, Australian marsupial PEU did not obey an EER, and scaled positively with body mass based on ordinary least squares (OLS regressions. Importantly, the scaling of marsupial population density with body mass had a slope of -0.37, significantly shallower than the expected slope of -0.75, and not directly inverse of body-mass scaling exponents for BMR (0.72 or FMR (0.62. The findings suggest that the EER may not be a causal, universal rule, or that for reasons not yet clear, it is not operating for Australia's unique native fauna.

  16. Marsupialization of a large dentigerous cyst in the mandible with orthodontic extrusion of three impacted teeth. A case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Mostafa, Nedal; Abbasi, Arshad

    2017-09-01

    The dentigerous cyst (DC) is the most common type of developmental odontogenic cyst. It is usually asymptomatic and associated with the crown of an unerupted or impacted tooth. However, after a long duration, it is likely to cause significant bone resorption, cortical expansion, and tooth displacement. This report presents a large infected DC in the mandible of a 12-year-old female patient. The DC was located inferior to badly decayed primary molars and surrounded three impacted permanent teeth: canine, first premolar, which had a dilacerated root, and second premolar. The DC was treated successfully by marsupialization and extrusion of the impacted teeth. In conclusion, the combination of marsupialization with orthodontic extrusion is a conservative, efficient protocol that stimulates bone healing and promotes the eruption of cyst-associated teeth even if they are deeply impacted, crowded, or have a dilacerated root. Key words: Dentigerous cyst, marsupialization, impacted teeth, orthodontic extrusion, dilacerated root.

  17. Application of the Marsupial Paradigm to Tropical Cyclone Formation from Northwestward-Propagating Disturbances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhuo; Dunkerton, Timothy J.; Montgomery, Michael T.

    2012-01-01

    A wave-tracking algorithm is developed for northwestward-propagating waves that, on occasion, play a role in tropical cyclogenesis over the western oceans. To obtain the Lagrangian flow structure, the frame of reference is translated obliquely at the same propagation speed with the precursor disturbance. Trajectory analysis suggests that streamlines in the obliquely translated frame of reference can be used to approximate flow trajectories. The algorithm was applied to Super Typhoon Nakri (2008), Tropical Cyclone Erika (2009), and a few other examples. Diagnoses of meteorological analyses and satellite-derived moisture and precipitation fields show that the marsupial framework for tropical cyclogenesis in tropical easterly waves is relevant also for northwestward-propagating disturbances as are commonly observed in the tropical western Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the western North Pacific. Finally, it is suggested that analysis of the global model data and satellite observations in the marsupial framework can provide useful guidance on early tropical cyclone advisories.

  18. Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrigan, Ryan J.; Wayne, Robert K.

    2018-01-01

    size and pigmentation are related to the resource seasonality, heat conservation, and pathogen-resistance hypotheses, respectively. Our findings suggest that marsupials may be highly susceptible to environmental changes, and in the case of the Virginia opossum, the drastic phenotypic evolution in northern populations may have arisen rapidly, facilitating the colonization of seasonal and colder habitats of temperate North America. PMID:29607255

  19. Playing by the rules? Phenotypic adaptation to temperate environments in an American marsupial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio F. Nigenda-Morales

    2018-03-01

    body size, extremity size and pigmentation are related to the resource seasonality, heat conservation, and pathogen-resistance hypotheses, respectively. Our findings suggest that marsupials may be highly susceptible to environmental changes, and in the case of the Virginia opossum, the drastic phenotypic evolution in northern populations may have arisen rapidly, facilitating the colonization of seasonal and colder habitats of temperate North America.

  20. Gender Analysis Of Electronic Information Resource Use: The Case ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Based on the findings the study concluded that access and use of electronic information resources creates a “social digital divide” along gender lines. The study ... Finally, the library needs to change its marketing strategies on the availability of electronic information resources to increase awareness of these resources.

  1. The ancestral chromosomes of Dromiciops gliroides (Microbiotheridae), and its bearings on the karyotypic evolution of American marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suárez-Villota, Elkin Y; Haro, Ronie E; Vargas, Rodrigo A; Gallardo, Milton H

    2016-01-01

    The low-numbered 14-chromosome karyotype of marsupials has falsified the fusion hypothesis claiming ancestrality from a 22-chromosome karyotype. Since the 14-chromosome condition of the relict Dromiciops gliroides is reminecent of ancestrality, its interstitial traces of past putative fusions and heterochromatin banding patterns were studied and added to available marsupials' cytogenetic data. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and self-genomic in situ hybridization (self-GISH) were used to detect telomeric and repetitive sequences, respectively. These were complemented with C-, fluorescent banding, and centromere immunodetection over mitotic spreads. The presence of interstitial telomeric sequences (ITS) and diploid numbers were reconstructed and mapped onto the marsupial phylogenetic tree. No interstitial, fluorescent signals, but clearly stained telomeric regions were detected by FISH and self-GISH. Heterochromatin distribution was sparse in the telomeric/subtelomeric regions of large submetacentric chromosomes. Large AT-rich blocks were detected in the long arm of four submetacentrics and CG-rich block in the telomeric regions of all chromosomes. The ancestral reconstructions both ITS presence and diploid numbers suggested that ITS are unrelated to fusion events. Although the lack of interstitial signals in D. gliroides' karyotype does not prove absence of past fusions, our data suggests its non-rearranged plesiomorphic condition.

  2. Users satisfaction with electronic information resources and services ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated users satisfaction on the use of electronic information resources and services in MTN Net libraries in ABU & UNIBEN. Two objectives and one null hypotheses were formulated and tested with respect to the users' satisfaction on electronic information resources and services in MTN Net libraries in ...

  3. Organizational matters of competition in electronic educational resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ирина Карловна Войтович

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the experience of the Udmurt State University in conducting competitions of educational publications and electronic resources. The purpose of such competitions is to provide methodological support to educational process. The main focus is on competition of electronic educational resources. The technology of such contests is discussed through detailed analysis of the main stages of the contest. It is noted that the main task of the preparatory stage of the competition is related to the development of regulations on competition and the definition of criteria for selection of the submitted works. The paper also proposes a system of evaluation criteria of electronic educational resources developed by members of the contest organizing committee and jury members. The article emphasizes the importance of not only the preparatory stages of the competition, but also measures for its completion, aimed at training teachers create quality e-learning resources.

  4. CHALLENGES OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES IN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper discusses the role of policy for proper and efficient library services in the electronic era. It points out some of the possible dangers of embarking in electronic resources without a proper focus at hand. Thus, it calls for today's librarians and policy makers to brainstorm and come up with working policies suitable to ...

  5. Transcriptomic changes in the pre-implantation uterus highlight histotrophic nutrition of the developing marsupial embryo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittington, Camilla M; O'Meally, Denis; Laird, Melanie K; Belov, Katherine; Thompson, Michael B; McAllan, Bronwyn M

    2018-02-05

    Early pregnancy is a critical time for successful reproduction; up to half of human pregnancies fail before the development of the definitive chorioallantoic placenta. Unlike the situation in eutherian mammals, marsupial pregnancy is characterised by a long pre-implantation period prior to the development of the short-lived placenta, making them ideal models for study of the uterine environment promoting embryonic survival pre-implantation. Here we present a transcriptomic study of pre-implantation marsupial pregnancy, and identify differentially expressed genes in the Sminthopsis crassicaudata uterus involved in metabolism and biosynthesis, transport, immunity, tissue remodelling, and uterine receptivity. Interestingly, almost one quarter of the top 50 genes that are differentially upregulated in early pregnancy are putatively involved in histotrophy, highlighting the importance of nutrient transport to the conceptus prior to the development of the placenta. This work furthers our understanding of the mechanisms underlying survival of pre-implantation embryos in the earliest live bearing ancestors of mammals.

  6. Extrinsic versus intrinsic factors in the decline and extinction of Australian marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Diana O; Blomberg, Simon P; Owens, Ian P F

    2003-09-07

    Recent attempts to explain the susceptibility of vertebrates to declines worldwide have largely focused on intrinsic factors such as body size, reproductive potential, ecological specialization, geographical range and phylogenetic longevity. Here, we use a database of 145 Australian marsupial species to test the effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors in a multivariate comparative approach. We model five intrinsic (body size, habitat specialization, diet, reproductive rate and range size) and four extrinsic (climate and range overlap with introduced foxes, sheep and rabbits) factors. We use quantitative measures of geographical range contraction as indices of decline. We also develop a new modelling approach of phylogenetically independent contrasts combined with imputation of missing values to deal simultaneously with phylogenetic structuring and missing data. One extrinsic variable-geographical range overlap with sheep-was the only consistent predictor of declines. Habitat specialization was independently but less consistently associated with declines. This suggests that extrinsic factors largely determine interspecific variation in extinction risk among Australian marsupials, and that the intrinsic factors that are consistently associated with extinction risk in other vertebrates are less important in this group. We conclude that recent anthropogenic changes have been profound enough to affect species on a continent-wide scale, regardless of their intrinsic biology.

  7. Bilateral endoscopic endonasal marsupialization of nasopalatine duct cyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yohei Honkura

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Nasopalatine duct cysts are the most common non-odontogenic cysts in the maxilla, and are conventionally treated through a sublabial or palatine approach. Recently, the endoscopic approach has been used, but experience is extremely limited. We treated a 29-year-old male with nasopalatine duct cyst by endoscopic marsupialization, but paresthesia of the incisor region occurred after surgery. This paresthesia gradually remitted within 6 months. The nasopalatine nerve, which innervates the upper incisor region, enters two lateral canals separately at the nasal floor and exits the central main canal at the palate. Damage to the bilateral nasopalatine nerves might lead to paresthesia, so we recommend careful examination for nerve fibers during endoscopic surgery, especially if fenestration is performed on both sides.

  8. Use of Electronic Resources in a Private University in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined awareness and constraints in the use of electronic resources by lecturers and students of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Nigeria. It aimed at justifying the resources expended in the provision of electronic resources in terms of awareness, patronage and factors that may be affecting awareness and use ...

  9. Electronic Resources Management System: Recommendation Report 2017

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-05-01

    This recommendation report provides an overview of the selection process for the new Electronic Resources Management System. The library has decided to move away from Innovative Interfaces Millennium ERM module. The library reviewed 3 system as potential replacements namely: Proquest 360 Resource Manager, Ex Libris Alma and Open Source CORAL ERMS. After comparing and trialling the systems, it was decided to go for Proquest 360 Resource Manager.

  10. use of electronic resources by graduate students of the department

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    respondent's access electronic resources from the internet via Cybercafé .There is a high ... KEY WORDS: Use, Electronic Resources, Graduate Students, Cybercafé. INTRODUCTION ... Faculty of Education, University of Uyo, Uyo. Olu Olat ...

  11. Philodryas chamissonis (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae preys on the arboreal marsupial Dromiciops gliroides (Mammalia: Microbiotheria: Microbiotheriidae Philodryas chamissonis (Reptilia: Squamata: Dipsadidae predando o marsupial arborícola Dromiciops gliroides (Mammalia: Microbiotheria: Microbiotheriidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Muñoz-Leal

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Philodryas chamissonis, the Chilean long-tailed snake, is a diurnal predator mainly of Liolaemus lizards, but also of amphibians, birds, rodents and juvenile rabbits. Dromiciops gliroides (Colocolo opossum is an arboreal marsupial endemic of temperate rainforest of southern South America. Little information is available about this marsupial's biology and ecology. Here we report the predation of one Colocolo opossum by an adult female P. chamissonis in a mixed Nothofagus forest, composed mainly by N. dombeyi, N. glauca and N. alpina trees, in the "Huemules de Niblinto" National Reserve, Nevados de Chillán, Chile. Since these two species have different activity and habitat use patterns, we discuss how this encounter may have occurred. Although it could just have been an opportunistic event, this finding provides insights into the different components of food chains in forest ecosystems of Chile.Philodryas chamissonis, cobra de cauda comprida ("Culebra de cola larga", é uma cobra diurna, predadora principalmente de lagartos do gênero Liolaemus, mas também de anfíbios, aves, roedores e coelhos jovens. Dromiciops gliroides (colocolo é um marsupial arborícola endêmico das florestas temperadas do sul da América do Sul. Há pouca informação disponível sobre a biologia e a ecologia deste marsulpial. É reportada, neste estudo, a predação de um colocolo por uma fêmea adulta de P. chamissonis, em uma floresta mista de Nothofagus, composta principalmente por árvores N. dombeyi, N. glauca e N. alpina, na Reserva Nacional de Huemules de Niblinto, Nevados de Chillán, Chile. Uma vez que estas duas espécies possuem diferentes padrões de atividade e de uso de habitat, discute-se como este evento poder ter ocorrido. Embora este possa ter sido apenas um evento oportunístico, o achado fornece novas informações sobre os diferentes componentes da cadeia alimentar nos ecossistemas florestais do Chile.

  12. The high aerobic capacity of a small, marsupial rat-kangaroo (Bettongia penicillata) is matched by the mitochondrial and capillary morphology of its skeletal muscles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Koa N; Dawson, Terence J

    2012-09-15

    We examined the structure-function relationships that underlie the aerobic capacities of marsupial mammals that hop. Marsupials have relatively low basal metabolic rates (BMR) and historically were seen as 'low energy' mammals. However, the red kangaroo, Macropus rufus (family Macropodidae), has aerobic capacities equivalent to athletic placentals. It has an extreme aerobic scope (fAS) and its large locomotor muscles feature high mitochondrial and capillary volumes. M. rufus belongs to a modern group of kangaroos and its high fAS is not general for marsupials. However, other hopping marsupials may have elevated aerobic capacities. Bettongia penicillata, a rat-kangaroo (family Potoroidae), is a small (1 kg), active hopper whose fAS is somewhat elevated. We examined the oxygen delivery system in its muscles to ascertain links with hopping. An elevated fAS of 23 provided a relatively high maximal aerobic oxygen consumption ( ) in B. penicillata; associated with this is a skeletal muscle mass of 44% of body mass. Ten muscles were sampled to estimate the total mitochondrial and capillary volume of the locomotor muscles. Values in B. penicillata were similar to those in M. rufus and in athletic placentals. This small hopper had high muscle mitochondrial volume densities (7.1-11.9%) and both a large total capillary volume (6 ml kg(-1) body mass) and total capillary erythrocyte volume (3.2 ml kg(-1)). Apparently, a considerable aerobic capacity is required to achieve the benefits of the extended stride in fast hopping. Of note, the ratio of to total muscle mitochondrial volume in B. penicillata was 4.9 ml O(2) min(-1) ml(-1). Similar values occur in M. rufus and also placental mammals generally, not only athletic species. If such relationships occur in other marsupials, a fundamental structure-function relationship for oxygen delivery to muscles likely originated with or before the earliest mammals.

  13. Cytogenetic analysis of some Brazilian marsupials (Didelphidae

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Casartelli, C; Rogatto, S R; Ferrari, I

    1986-01-01

    Three species of marsupials from the Amazon region (Marmosa cinerea, Caluromys lanatus, and Didelphis marsupialis) and two from the region of São Paulo (Didelphis marsupialis and Didelphis albiventris) were studied. The G-banding pattern of the species with 2n = 14 (M. cinerea and C. lanatus......, being located in the telomeric region of one pair and in the centromeric region of the other pair. Caluromys lanatus has centromeric Ag-NORs in one acrocentric and in one submetacentric chromosome pairs. Didelphis marsupialis has three chromosome pairs with telomeric Ag-NORs. In D. albiventris the Ag......) was very similar, as well as the pattern of G-bands in the species with 22 chromosomes (Didelphis). All of the autosomes of M. cinerea and D. albiventris have centromeric C-bands and the Y chromosome is totally C-band positive. The long arm of the M. cinerea X chromosome is completely C-band positive...

  14. Hammer-toothed ‘marsupial skinks' from the Australian Cenozoic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arena, Derrick A.; Archer, Michael; Godthelp, Henk; Hand, Suzanne J.; Hocknull, Scott

    2011-01-01

    Extinct species of Malleodectes gen. nov. from Middle to Late Miocene deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, Australia are enigmatic, highly specialized, probably snail-eating marsupials. Dentally, they closely resemble a bizarre group of living heterodont, wet forest scincid lizards from Australia (Cyclodomorphus) that may well have outcompeted them as snail-eaters when the closed forests of central Australia began to decline. Although there are scincids known from the same Miocene deposits at Riversleigh, these are relatively plesiomorphic, generalized feeders. This appears to be the most striking example known of dental convergence and possible competition between a mammal and a lizard, which in the long run worked out better for the lizards. PMID:21508033

  15. Electronic resource management practical perspectives in a new technical services model

    CERN Document Server

    Elguindi, Anne

    2012-01-01

    A significant shift is taking place in libraries, with the purchase of e-resources accounting for the bulk of materials spending. Electronic Resource Management makes the case that technical services workflows need to make a corresponding shift toward e-centric models and highlights the increasing variety of e-formats that are forcing new developments in the field.Six chapters cover key topics, including: technical services models, both past and emerging; staffing and workflow in electronic resource management; implementation and transformation of electronic resource management systems; the ro

  16. Cytochrome P450 CYP3A in marsupials: cloning and characterisation of the second identified CYP3A subfamily member, isoform 3A78 from koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Merhibi, Adaweyah; Ngo, Suong N T; Crittenden, Tamara A; Marchant, Ceilidh L; Stupans, Ieva; McKinnon, Ross A

    2011-11-01

    Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are critically important in the oxidative metabolism of a diverse array of xenobiotics and endogenous substrates. Previously, we cloned and characterised the CYP2C, CYP4A, and CYP4B gene subfamilies from marsupials and demonstrated important species-differences in both activity and tissue expression of these CYP enzymes. Recently, we isolated the Eastern grey kangaroo CYP3A70. Here we have cloned and characterised the second identified member of marsupial CYP3A gene subfamily, CYP3A78 from the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). In addition, we have examined the gender-differences in microsomal erythromycin N-demethylation activity (a CYP3A marker) and CYP3A protein expression across test marsupial species. Significant differences in hepatic erythromycin N-demethylation activity were observed between male and female koalas, with the activity detected in female koalas being 2.5-fold higher compared to that in male koalas (p<0.01). No gender-differences were observed in tammar wallaby or Eastern grey kangaroo. Immunoblot analysis utilising anti-human CYP3A4 antibody detected immunoreactive proteins in liver microsomes from all test male and female marsupials including the koala, tammar wallaby, and Eastern grey kangaroo, with no gender-differences detected across test marsupials. A 1610 bp koala hepatic CYP3A complete cDNA, designated CYP3A78, was cloned by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction approaches. It displays 64% nucleotide and 57% amino acid sequence identity to the Eastern grey kangaroo CYP3A70. The CYP3A78 cDNA encodes a protein of 515 amino acids, shares approximately 68% nucleotide and 56% amino acid sequence identity to human CYP3A4, and displays high sequence similarity to other published mammalian CYP3As from human, monkey, cow, pig, dog, rat, rabbit, mouse, hamster, and guinea pig. Collectively, this study provides primary molecular data regarding koala hepatic CYP3A78 gene and enables further functional analyses of CYP

  17. Utilization of electronic information resources by academic staff at ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study investigated the utilization of Electronic Information resources by the academic staff of Makerere University in Uganda. It examined the academic staff awareness of the resources available, the types of resources provided by the Makerere University Library, the factors affecting resource utilization. The study was ...

  18. Electronic Resources Management Project Presentation 2012

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2012-01-01

    This presentation describes the electronic resources management project undertaken by the KAUST library. The objectives of this project is to migrate information from MS Sharepoint to Millennium ERM module. One of the advantages of this migration

  19. Practical guide to electronic resources in the humanities

    CERN Document Server

    Dubnjakovic, Ana

    2010-01-01

    From full-text article databases to digitized collections of primary source materials, newly emerging electronic resources have radically impacted how research in the humanities is conducted and discovered. This book, covering high-quality, up-to-date electronic resources for the humanities, is an easy-to-use annotated guide for the librarian, student, and scholar alike. It covers online databases, indexes, archives, and many other critical tools in key humanities disciplines including philosophy, religion, languages and literature, and performing and visual arts. Succinct overviews of key eme

  20. Utilisation of Electronic Information Resources By Lecturers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study assesses the use of information resources, specifically, electronic databases by lecturers/teachers in Universities and Colleges of Education in South Western Nigeria. Information resources are central to teachers' education. It provides lecturers/teachers access to information that enhances research and ...

  1. Uniformity in the basal metabolic rate of marsupials: its causes and consequences Uniformidad en la tasa metabólica basal de marsupiales: sus causas y consecuencias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BRIAN K. MACNAB

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Most of the variation (98.8 % in basal rate of metabolism (BMR in 70 species of marsupials is correlated with body mass, although lowland species have higher basal rates than highland species and burrowers have lower basal rates than non-burrowers. These factors collectively account for 99.2 % of the variation in marsupial BMR. Marsupials differ in BMR from eutherians by having no species with a high basal rate by general mammalian standards, even when consuming vertebrates or grass, food habits that are associated with very high basal rates in eutherians. The absence of high basal rates in marsupials reflects the absence of a correlation of rate of reproduction with basal rate, a correlation present in eutherians. These differences have two consequences: (1 marsupials are less tolerant of cold environments than eutherians, and (2 marsupials coexist with eutherians only when both have food habits associated with low basal rates and therefore when eutherians have reduced rates of reproduction. In Australia and South America marsupial carnivores diversified in the absence of eutherian equivalents. The importation to mainland Australia of dingos by humans appears to have been the immediate cause for the extinction of thylacines, Tasmanian devils, and eastern quolls. Carnivorous marsupials in South America were replaced by eutherians with the completion of the Panamanian land bridge. Macropods, which have lower basal rates than eutherian grazers, survive in central Australia probably because of their adjustment to xeric environments, whereas introduced domestic stock require the provision of water by humansGran parte de la variación (98,5 en la tasa metabólica basal de 70 especies de marsupiales se correlaciona con la masa corporal, aunque las especies de tierras bajas tienes tasas basales mayores que las de tierras altas, y las especies subterráneas tienes BMR’s menores que las no subterráneas. Colectivamente, estos factores dan cuenta de un

  2. Common Distribution Patterns of Marsupials Related to Physiographical Diversity in Venezuela

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventura, Jacint; Bagaria, Guillem; Sans-Fuentes, Maria Assumpció; Pérez-Hernández, Roger

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study is to identify significant biotic regions (groups of areas with similar biotas) and biotic elements (groups of taxa with similar distributions) for the marsupial fauna in a part of northern South America using physiographical areas as Operational Geographical Units (OGUs). We considered Venezuela a good model to elucidate this issue because of its high diversity in landscapes and the relatively vast amount of information available on the geographical distribution of marsupial species. Based on the presence-absence of 33 species in 15 physiographical sub-regions (OGUs) we identified Operational Biogeographical Units (OBUs) and chorotypes using a quantitative analysis that tested statistical significance of the resulting groups. Altitudinal and/or climatic trends in the OBUs and chorotypes were studied using a redundancy analysis. The classification method revealed four OBUs. Strong biotic boundaries separated: i) the xerophytic zone of the Continental coast (OBU I); ii) the sub-regions north of the Orinoco River (OBU III and IV); and those south to the river (OBU II). Eleven chorotypes were identified, four of which included a single species with a restricted geographic distribution. As for the other chorotypes, three main common distribution patterns have been inferred: i) species from the Llanos and/or distributed south of the Orinoco River; ii) species exclusively from the Andes; and iii) species that either occur exclusively north of the Orinoco River or that show a wide distribution throughout Venezuela. Mean altitude, evapotranspiration and precipitation of the driest month, and temperature range allowed us to characterize environmentally most of the OBUs and chorotypes obtained. PMID:24806452

  3. Common distribution patterns of marsupials related to physiographical diversity in Venezuela.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacint Ventura

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to identify significant biotic regions (groups of areas with similar biotas and biotic elements (groups of taxa with similar distributions for the marsupial fauna in a part of northern South America using physiographical areas as Operational Geographical Units (OGUs. We considered Venezuela a good model to elucidate this issue because of its high diversity in landscapes and the relatively vast amount of information available on the geographical distribution of marsupial species. Based on the presence-absence of 33 species in 15 physiographical sub-regions (OGUs we identified Operational Biogeographical Units (OBUs and chorotypes using a quantitative analysis that tested statistical significance of the resulting groups. Altitudinal and/or climatic trends in the OBUs and chorotypes were studied using a redundancy analysis. The classification method revealed four OBUs. Strong biotic boundaries separated: i the xerophytic zone of the Continental coast (OBU I; ii the sub-regions north of the Orinoco River (OBU III and IV; and those south to the river (OBU II. Eleven chorotypes were identified, four of which included a single species with a restricted geographic distribution. As for the other chorotypes, three main common distribution patterns have been inferred: i species from the Llanos and/or distributed south of the Orinoco River; ii species exclusively from the Andes; and iii species that either occur exclusively north of the Orinoco River or that show a wide distribution throughout Venezuela. Mean altitude, evapotranspiration and precipitation of the driest month, and temperature range allowed us to characterize environmentally most of the OBUs and chorotypes obtained.

  4. Discipline, availability of electronic resources and the use of Finnish National Electronic Library - FinELib

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanna Torma

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This study elaborated relations between digital library use by university faculty, users' discipline and the availability of key resources in the Finnish National Electronic Library (FinELib, Finnish national digital library, by using nationwide representative survey data. The results show that the perceived availability of key electronic resources by researchers in FinELib was a stronger predictor of the frequency and purpose of use of its services than users' discipline. Regardless of discipline a good perceived provision of central resources led to a more frequent use of FinELib. The satisfaction with the services did not vary with the discipline, but with the perceived availability of resources.

  5. The Role of the Acquisitions Librarian in Electronic Resources Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pomerantz, Sarah B.

    2010-01-01

    With the ongoing shift to electronic formats for library resources, acquisitions librarians, like the rest of the profession, must adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of electronic resources by keeping up with trends and mastering new skills related to digital publishing, technology, and licensing. The author sought to know what roles…

  6. Analysis of Pedagogic Potential of Electronic Educational Resources with Elements of Autodidactics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor A.

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: in recent years didactic properties of electronic educational resources undergo considerable changes, nevertheless, the question of studying of such complete phenomenon as “an electronic educational resource with autodidactics elements” remains open, despite sufficient scientific base of researches of the terms making this concept. Article purpose – determination of essence of electronic educational resources with autodidactics elements. Materials and Methods: the main method of research was the theoretical analysis of the pedagogical and psychological literature on the problem under study. We used the theoretical (analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization methods, the method of interpretation, pedagogical modeling, and empirical methods (observation, testing, conversation, interview, analysis of students’ performance, pedagogical experiment, peer review. Results: we detected the advantages of electronic educational resources in comparison with traditional ones. The concept of autodidactics as applied to the subject of research is considered. Properties of electronic educational resources with a linear and nonlinear principle of construction are studied.The influence of the principle of construction on the development of the learners’ qualities is shown. We formulated an integral definition of electronic educational resources with elements of autodidactics, namely, the variability, adaptivity and cyclicity of training. A model of the teaching-learning process with electronic educational resources is developed. Discussion and Conclusions: further development of a problem will allow to define whether electronic educational resources with autodidactics elements pedagogical potential for realization of educational and self-educational activity of teachers have, to modify technological procedures taking into account age features of students, their specialties and features of the organization of process of training of

  7. Preservation and conservation of electronic information resources of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The major holdings of the broadcast libraries of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) are electronic information resources; therefore, providing safe places for general management of these resources have aroused interest in the industry in Nigeria for sometimes. The need to study the preservation and conservation of ...

  8. Building an electronic resource collection a practical guide

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, Stuart D

    2004-01-01

    This practical book guides information professionals step-by-step through building and managing an electronic resource collection. It outlines the range of electronic products currently available in abstracting and indexing, bibliographic, and other services and then describes how to effectively select, evaluate and purchase them.

  9. Analysis of Human Resources Management Strategy in China Electronic Commerce Enterprises

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Fang

    The paper discussed electronic-commerce's influence on enterprise human resources management, proposed and proved the human resources management strategy which electronic commerce enterprise should adopt from recruitment strategy to training strategy, keeping talent strategy and other ways.

  10. Using XML Technologies to Organize Electronic Reference Resources

    OpenAIRE

    Huser, Vojtech; Del Fiol, Guilherme; Rocha, Roberto A.

    2005-01-01

    Provision of access to reference electronic resources to clinicians is becoming increasingly important. We have created a framework for librarians to manage access to these resources at an enterprise level, rather than at the individual hospital libraries. We describe initial project requirements, implementation details, and some preliminary results.

  11. Dissociation and preservation of preantral follicles and immature oocytes from female dasyurid marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czarny, N A; Harris, M S; Rodger, J C

    2009-01-01

    The mammalian ovary contains numerous immature preantral follicles that are not dependent on endocrine support, unlike the more mature hormone-dependent antral follicles. Preantral follicles can be enzymatically dissociated to yield immature oocytes that survive sub-zero preservation better as they lack a temperature-sensitive meiotic spindle. These techniques are highly applicable to gamete banking, which is an urgent requirement for Australian carnivorous marsupials as several species have rapidly declining populations and risk extinction. The present study developed protocols for the transport, dissociation, preservation and culture of granulosa cell-oocyte complexes (GOC) from the ovaries of dasyurid marsupials. High viability of GOC following enzymatic dissociation is reported and it was demonstrated that GOC are of significantly better quality following refrigerated storage for 24 h compared with storage at room temperature. Oocytes from primary follicles were not damaged by cold shock or the toxicity of vitrification media and following vitrification in liquid nitrogen 69.42+/-2.44% of oocytes were viable. However, the surrounding granulosa cells demonstrated significant damage post-thaw. These granulosa cells proliferated during a 48-h culture period resulting in significant improvements in GOC quality. The present study is a valuable step towards cryostorage of dasyurid gametes and represents fundamentally important methods by which we can contribute to the conservation of Australia's native predators.

  12. Electronic Resources and Mission Creep: Reorganizing the Library for the Twenty-First Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stachokas, George

    2009-01-01

    The position of electronic resources librarian was created to serve as a specialist in the negotiation of license agreements for electronic resources, but mission creep has added more functions to the routine work of electronic resources such as cataloging, gathering information for collection development, and technical support. As electronic…

  13. Neurogenesis in the brain auditory pathway of a marsupial, the northern native cat (Dasyurus hallucatus)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aitkin, L.; Nelson, J.; Farrington, M.; Swann, S.

    1991-01-01

    Neurogenesis in the auditory pathway of the marsupial Dasyurus hallucatus was studied. Intraperitoneal injections of tritiated thymidine (20-40 microCi) were made into pouch-young varying from 1 to 56 days pouch-life. Animals were killed as adults and brain sections were prepared for autoradiography and counterstained with a Nissl stain. Neurons in the ventral cochlear nucleus were generated prior to 3 days pouch-life, in the superior olive at 5-7 days, and in the dorsal cochlear nucleus over a prolonged period. Inferior collicular neurogenesis lagged behind that in the medial geniculate, the latter taking place between days 3 and 9 and the former between days 7 and 22. Neurogenesis began in the auditory cortex on day 9 and was completed by about day 42. Thus neurogenesis was complete in the medullary auditory nuclei before that in the midbrain commenced, and in the medial geniculate before that in the auditory cortex commenced. The time course of neurogenesis in the auditory pathway of the native cat was very similar to that in another marsupial, the brushtail possum. For both, neurogenesis occurred earlier than in eutherian mammals of a similar size but was more protracted

  14. The Araguaia River as an Important Biogeographical Divide for Didelphid Marsupials in Central Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocha, Rita Gomes; Ferreira, Eduardo; Loss, Ana Carolina; Heller, Rasmus; Fonseca, Carlos; Costa, Leonora Pires

    2015-01-01

    The riverine barrier model suggests that rivers play a significant role in separating widespread organisms into isolated populations. In this study, we used a comparative approach to investigate the phylogeography of 6 didelphid marsupial species in central Brazil. Specifically, we evaluate the role of the mid-Araguaia River in differentiating populations and estimate divergence time among lineages to assess the timing of differentiation of these species, using mitochondrial DNA sequence data. The 6 didelphid marsupials revealed different intraspecific genetic patterns and structure. The 3 larger and more generalist species, Didelphis albiventris, Didelphis marsupialis, and Philander opossum, showed connectivity across the Araguaia River. In contrast the genetic structure of the 3 smaller and specialist species, Gracilinanus agilis, Marmosa (Marmosa) murina, and Marmosa (Micoureus) demerarae was shaped by the mid-Araguaia. Moreover, the split of eastern and western bank populations of the 2 latter species is consistent with the age of Araguaia River sediments formation. We hypothesize that the role of the Araguaia as a riverine barrier is linked to the level of ecological specialization among the 6 didelphid species and differences in their ability to cross rivers or disperse through the associated habitat types. © The American Genetic Association 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Electronic Resources Management System: Recommendation Report 2017

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-01-01

    This recommendation report provides an overview of the selection process for the new Electronic Resources Management System. The library has decided to move away from Innovative Interfaces Millennium ERM module. The library reviewed 3 system

  16. The Internet School of Medicine: use of electronic resources by medical trainees and the reliability of those resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egle, Jonathan P; Smeenge, David M; Kassem, Kamal M; Mittal, Vijay K

    2015-01-01

    Electronic sources of medical information are plentiful, and numerous studies have demonstrated the use of the Internet by patients and the variable reliability of these sources. Studies have investigated neither the use of web-based resources by residents, nor the reliability of the information available on these websites. A web-based survey was distributed to surgical residents in Michigan and third- and fourth-year medical students at an American allopathic and osteopathic medical school and a Caribbean allopathic school regarding their preferred sources of medical information in various situations. A set of 254 queries simulating those faced by medical trainees on rounds, on a written examination, or during patient care was developed. The top 5 electronic resources cited by the trainees were evaluated for their ability to answer these questions accurately, using standard textbooks as the point of reference. The respondents reported a wide variety of overall preferred resources. Most of the 73 responding medical trainees favored textbooks or board review books for prolonged studying, but electronic resources are frequently used for quick studying, clinical decision-making questions, and medication queries. The most commonly used electronic resources were UpToDate, Google, Medscape, Wikipedia, and Epocrates. UpToDate and Epocrates had the highest percentage of correct answers (47%) and Wikipedia had the lowest (26%). Epocrates also had the highest percentage of wrong answers (30%), whereas Google had the lowest percentage (18%). All resources had a significant number of questions that they were unable to answer. Though hardcopy books have not been completely replaced by electronic resources, more than half of medical students and nearly half of residents prefer web-based sources of information. For quick questions and studying, both groups prefer Internet sources. However, the most commonly used electronic resources fail to answer clinical queries more than half

  17. ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF LATIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Yu. Balalaieva

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the current state of development of e-learning content in the Latin language. It is noted that the introduction of ICT in the educational space has expanded the possibility of studying Latin, opened access to digital libraries resources, made it possible to use scientific and educational potential and teaching Latin best practices of world's leading universities. A review of foreign and Ukrainian information resources and electronic editions for the study of Latin is given. Much attention was paid to the didactic potential of local and online multimedia courses of Latin, electronic textbooks, workbooks of interactive tests and exercises, various dictionaries and software translators, databases and digital libraries. Based on analysis of the world market of educational services and products the main trends in the development of information resources and electronic books are examined. It was found that multimedia courses with interactive exercises or workbooks with interactive tests, online dictionaries and translators are the most widely represented and demanded. The noticeable lagging of Ukrainian education and computer linguistics in quantitative and qualitative measures in this industry is established. The obvious drawback of existing Ukrainian resources and electronic editions for the study of Latin is their noninteractive nature. The prospects of e-learning content in Latin in Ukraine are outlined.

  18. Elektronik Bilgi Kaynaklarının Seçimi / Selection of Electronic Information Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pınar Al

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available For many years, library users have used only from the printed media in order to get the information that they have needed. Today with the widespread use of the Web and the addition of electronic information resources to library collections, the use of information in the electronic environment as well as in printed media is started to be used. In time, such types of information resources as, electronic journals, electronic books, electronic encyclopedias, electronic dictionaries and electronic theses have been added to library collections. In this study, selection criteria that can be used for electronic information resources are discussed and suggestions are provided for libraries that try to select electronic information resources for their collections.

  19. Access to electronic resources by visually impaired people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Craven

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Research into access to electronic resources by visually impaired people undertaken by the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management has not only explored the accessibility of websites and levels of awareness in providing websites that adhere to design for all principles, but has sought to enhance understanding of information seeking behaviour of blind and visually impaired people when using digital resources.

  20. Library training to promote electronic resource usage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Tove Faber; Tibyampansha, Dativa; Ibrahim, Glory

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Increasing the usage of electronic resources is an issue of concern for many libraries all over the world. Several studies stress the importance of information literacy and instruction in order to increase the usage. Design/methodology/approach: The present article presents the results...

  1. Why and How to Measure the Use of Electronic Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean Bernon

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available A complete overview of library activity implies a complete and reliable measurement of the use of both electronic resources and printed materials. This measurement is based on three sets of definitions: document types, use types and user types. There is a common model of definitions for printed materials, but a lot of questions and technical issues remain for electronic resources. In 2006 a French national working group studied these questions. It relied on the COUNTER standard, but found it insufficient and pointed out the need for local tools such as web markers and deep analysis of proxy logs. Within the French national consortium COUPERIN, a new working group is testing ERMS, SUSHI standards, Shibboleth authentication, along with COUNTER standards, to improve the counting of the electronic resources use. At this stage this counting is insufficient and its improvement will be a European challenge for the future.

  2. Identification of novel Babesia and Theileria genotypes in the endangered marsupials, the woylie (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) and boodie (Bettongia lesueur).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paparini, Andrea; Ryan, Una M; Warren, Kris; McInnes, Linda M; de Tores, Paul; Irwin, Peter J

    2012-05-01

    Piroplasms, which include the genera Theileria and Babesia, are blood-borne parasites transmitted mainly by tick vectors. Relatively little is known about their prevalence and clinical impact in Australian marsupials. In the present study the occurrence and molecular phylogeny of these parasites were studied in both wild and captive marsupials from Western Australia (WA) and Queensland (QLD). Blood samples were screened by microscopy and molecular methods, using PCR and DNA sequencing of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene (18S rDNA). Overall, 7.1% of the blood samples (8/113) were positive for piroplasm 18S rDNA. Theileria and Babesia rDNA was detected in 0.9% (1/113) and 6.2% (7/113) of the animals, respectively. The single Theileria positive was identified in one of three boodies (Bettongia lesueur) screened from a wildlife rehabilitation centre in WA, while all seven Babesia positives were detected in WA in wild captured woylies (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi). Small intraerythrocytic inclusions were observed in blood films made from six of these individuals. This is the first report of a Babesia sp. in woylies, and Theileria sp. in boodies. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the woylie-derived Babesia was genetically distinct and most closely related to Babesia occultans, the causative agent of a benign form of cattle babesiosis (genetic similarity 98.4%). The Theileria identified was most closely related to the marsupial-derived species Theileria penicillata from the woylie, Theileria brachyuri from the quokka (Setonix brachyurus), and Theileria sp. from the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Didelphidae marsupials (Mammalia, Didelphimorphia from the Late Pleistocene deposit of the Gruta dos Moura Cave, northern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Villa Nova

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The present study acknowledges the diversity of fossil marsupials from the Gruta dos Moura cave, as well as environmental and climatic aspects during the Quaternary. The results show that this is the largest diversity of Pleistocene marsupials recorded in a single cave: Didelphis albiventris, D. aurita, Gracilinanus agilis, G. microtarsus, Marmosa murina, Monodelphis brevicaudata, M. domesticaand Sairadelphys tocantinensis. Furthermore, the described specimens are also part of the only fossil assemblage unequivocally referable to the late Pleistocene. Paleontological studies suggest an intimate association with dry and open environments with high abundance of water sources. Since most of the identified taxa are characteristic of open forests and gallery forests, this could represent the actual environment around the Gruta dos Moura cave. Recent studies identified sympatric occurrences between species from open and dry environments and species from humid forests that were identified among our material and are characteristic of humid regions. Therefore, these species could inhabit gallery forests and capons, or even ecotones, inside a dry and open environment. Moreover, the extinction of Sairadelphyscould also indicate that the climatic and environmental conditions changed or that the past environment was more heterogeneous than the current environment of the region.

  4. Euler European Libraries and Electronic Resources in Mathematical Sciences

    CERN Document Server

    The Euler Project. Karlsruhe

    The European Libraries and Electronic Resources (EULER) Project in Mathematical Sciences provides the EulerService site for searching out "mathematical resources such as books, pre-prints, web-pages, abstracts, proceedings, serials, technical reports preprints) and NetLab (for Internet resources), this outstanding engine is capable of simple, full, and refined searches. It also offers a browse option, which responds to entries in the author, keyword, and title fields. Further information about the Project is provided at the EULER homepage.

  5. Herds Overhead: Nimbadon lavarackorum (Diprotodontidae), Heavyweight Marsupial Herbivores in the Miocene Forests of Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Karen H.; Camens, Aaron B.; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J.

    2012-01-01

    The marsupial family Diprotodontidae (Diprotodontia, Vombatiformes) is a group of extinct large-bodied (60–2500 kg) wombat-like herbivores that were common and geographically widespread in Cenozoic fossil deposits of Australia and New Guinea. Typically they are regarded to be gregarious, terrestrial quadrupeds and have been likened in body form among placental groups to sheep, rhinoceros and hippopotami. Arguably, one of the best represented species is the zygomaturine diprotodontid Nimbadon lavarackorum which is known from exceptionally well-preserved cranial and postcranial material from the middle Miocene cave deposit AL90, in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Here we describe and functionally analyse the appendicular skeleton of Nimbadon lavarackorum and reveal a far more unique lifestyle for this plesiomorphic and smallest of diprotodontids. Striking similarities are evident between the skeleton of Nimbadon and that of the extant arboreal koala Phascolarctos cinereus, including the powerfully built forelimbs, highly mobile shoulder and elbow joints, proportionately large manus and pes (both with a semi-opposable digit I) and exceedingly large, recurved and laterally compressed claws. Combined with the unique (among australidelphians) proportionately shortened hindlimbs of Nimbadon, these features suggest adept climbing ability, probable suspensory behaviour, and an arboreal lifestyle. At approximately 70 kg, Nimbadon is the largest herbivorous mammal to have occupied the forest canopies of Australia - an ecological niche that is no longer occupied in any Australian ecosystem and one that further expands the already significant niche diversity displayed by marsupials during the Cenozoic. PMID:23185250

  6. Herds overhead: Nimbadon lavarackorum (Diprotodontidae, heavyweight marsupial herbivores in the Miocene forests of Australia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen H Black

    Full Text Available The marsupial family Diprotodontidae (Diprotodontia, Vombatiformes is a group of extinct large-bodied (60-2500 kg wombat-like herbivores that were common and geographically widespread in Cenozoic fossil deposits of Australia and New Guinea. Typically they are regarded to be gregarious, terrestrial quadrupeds and have been likened in body form among placental groups to sheep, rhinoceros and hippopotami. Arguably, one of the best represented species is the zygomaturine diprotodontid Nimbadon lavarackorum which is known from exceptionally well-preserved cranial and postcranial material from the middle Miocene cave deposit AL90, in the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Here we describe and functionally analyse the appendicular skeleton of Nimbadon lavarackorum and reveal a far more unique lifestyle for this plesiomorphic and smallest of diprotodontids. Striking similarities are evident between the skeleton of Nimbadon and that of the extant arboreal koala Phascolarctos cinereus, including the powerfully built forelimbs, highly mobile shoulder and elbow joints, proportionately large manus and pes (both with a semi-opposable digit I and exceedingly large, recurved and laterally compressed claws. Combined with the unique (among australidelphians proportionately shortened hindlimbs of Nimbadon, these features suggest adept climbing ability, probable suspensory behaviour, and an arboreal lifestyle. At approximately 70 kg, Nimbadon is the largest herbivorous mammal to have occupied the forest canopies of Australia - an ecological niche that is no longer occupied in any Australian ecosystem and one that further expands the already significant niche diversity displayed by marsupials during the Cenozoic.

  7. Effects of Electronic Information Resources Skills Training for Lecturers on Pedagogical Practices and Research Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhukuvhani, Crispen; Chiparausha, Blessing; Zuvalinyenga, Dorcas

    2012-01-01

    Lecturers use various electronic resources at different frequencies. The university library's information literacy skills workshops and seminars are the main sources of knowledge of accessing electronic resources. The use of electronic resources can be said to have positively affected lecturers' pedagogical practices and their work in general. The…

  8. Electronic Commerce Resource Centers. An Industry--University Partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulledge, Thomas R.; Sommer, Rainer; Tarimcilar, M. Murat

    1999-01-01

    Electronic Commerce Resource Centers focus on transferring emerging technologies to small businesses through university/industry partnerships. Successful implementation hinges on a strategic operating plan, creation of measurable value for customers, investment in customer-targeted training, and measurement of performance outputs. (SK)

  9. An elusive new species of Marsupial Frog (Anura: Hemiphractidae: Gastrotheca from the Andes of northern Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William E. Duellman

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available A new species of marsupial frog, genus Gastrotheca, is described from high-elevation grasslands in the Andes in Región Amazonas in northernPeru, where even calling males are well hidden in deep moss. The new species is distinguished from all congeners by its unique color pattern that includes a narrow, blackbordered, yellow middorsal stripe. The species apparently belongs to the Gastrotheca plumbea Group, which ranges in the Andes from northern Colombia to northern Peru.

  10. The oldest modern therian mammal from Europe and its bearing on stem marsupial paleobiogeography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vullo, Romain; Gheerbrant, Emmanuel; de Muizon, Christian; Néraudeau, Didier

    2009-11-24

    We report the discovery of mammalian tribosphenic teeth from the basal Cenomanian of southwestern France that we refer to a new primitive marsupial-like form identified as a basal taxon of Marsupialiformes, a new clade recognized here to include the crown group Marsupialia and primitive stem lineages more closely related to Marsupialia than to Deltatheroida. Arcantiodelphys marchandi gen et sp nov. shares several significant marsupial-like features (s.l.) with marsupialiform taxa known from the North American Mid-Cretaceous. Among marsupialiforms, it shows a closer resemblance to Dakotadens. This resemblance, which is plesiomorphic within "tribotherians," makes Arcantiodelphys one of the most archaic known Marsupialiformes. Moreover, Arcantiodelphys is characterized by an original and precocious crushing specialization. Both the plesiomorphic and autapomorphic characteristics of Arcantiodelphys among Marsupialiformes might be explained by an Eastern origin from Asian stem metatherians, with some in situ European evolution. In addition, the presence of a mammal with North American affinities in western Europe during the early Late Cretaceous provides further evidence of a large Euramerican biogeographical province at this age or slightly before. Concerning the paleobiogeographical history of the first stem marsupialiforms during the Albian-Cenomanian interval, 2 possible dispersal routes from an Asian metatherian ancestry can be proposed: Asia to Europe via North America and Asia to North America via Europe. The main significance of the Archingeay-Les Nouillers mammal discovery is that it indicates that the beginning of the stem marsupialiforms history involved not only North America but also Europe, and that this early history in Europe remains virtually unknown.

  11. Extreme telomere length dimorphism in the Tasmanian devil and related marsupials suggests parental control of telomere length.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah S Bender

    Full Text Available Telomeres, specialised structures that protect chromosome ends, play a critical role in preserving chromosome integrity. Telomere dynamics in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii are of particular interest in light of the emergence of devil facial tumour disease (DFTD, a transmissible malignancy that causes rapid mortality and threatens the species with extinction. We used fluorescent in situ hybridisation to investigate telomere length in DFTD cells, in healthy Tasmanian devils and in four closely related marsupial species. Here we report that animals in the Order Dasyuromorphia have chromosomes characterised by striking telomere length dimorphism between homologues. Findings in sex chromosomes suggest that telomere length dimorphism may be regulated by events in the parental germlines. Long telomeres on the Y chromosome imply that telomere lengthening occurs during spermatogenesis, whereas telomere diminution occurs during oogenesis. Although found in several somatic cell tissue types, telomere length dimorphism was not found in DFTD cancer cells, which are characterised by uniformly short telomeres. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of naturally occurring telomere length dimorphism in any species and suggests a novel strategy of telomere length control. Comparative studies in five distantly related marsupials and a monotreme indicate that telomere dimorphism evolved at least 50 million years ago.

  12. A transcriptome resource for the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): insights into koala retrovirus transcription and sequence diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobbs, Matthew; Pavasovic, Ana; King, Andrew G; Prentis, Peter J; Eldridge, Mark D B; Chen, Zhiliang; Colgan, Donald J; Polkinghorne, Adam; Wilkins, Marc R; Flanagan, Cheyne; Gillett, Amber; Hanger, Jon; Johnson, Rebecca N; Timms, Peter

    2014-09-11

    dataset is a useful resource for molecular genetic studies of the koala, for evolutionary genetic studies of marsupials, for validation and annotation of the koala genome sequence, and for investigation of koala retrovirus. Annotated transcripts can be browsed and queried at http://koalagenome.org.

  13. Mitochondrial genome sequencing reveals potential origins of the scabies mite Sarcoptes scabiei infesting two iconic Australian marsupials

    OpenAIRE

    Fraser, Tamieka A.; Shao, Renfu; Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M.; Charleston, Michael; Martin, Alynn; Whiteley, Pam; Holme, Roz; Carver, Scott; Polkinghorne, Adam

    2017-01-01

    Background Debilitating skin infestations caused by the mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, have a profound impact on human and animal health globally. In Australia, this impact is evident across different segments of Australian society, with a growing recognition that it can contribute to rapid declines of native Australian marsupials. Cross-host transmission has been suggested to play a significant role in the epidemiology and origin of mite infestations in different species but a chronic lack of gene...

  14. USE OF ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES WHEN TRAINING IN WORK WITH SPREADSHEETS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Х А Гербеков

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Today the tools for maintaining training courses based on opportunities of information and communication technologies are developed. Practically in all directions of preparation and on all subject matters electronic textbook and self-instruction manuals are created. Nevertheless the industry of computer educational and methodical materials actively develops and gets more and more areas of development and introduction. In this regard more and more urgent is a problem of development of the electronic educational resources adequate to modern educational requirements. Creation and the organization of training courses with use of electronic educational resources in particular on the basis of Internet technologies remains a difficult methodical task.In article the questions connected with development of electronic educational resources for use when studying the substantial line “Information technologies” of a school course of informatics in particular for studying of spreadsheets are considered. Also the analysis of maintenance of a school course and the unified state examination from the point of view of representation of task in him corresponding to the substantial line of studying “Information technologies” on mastering technology of information processing in spreadsheets and the methods of visualization given by means of charts and schedules is carried out.

  15. Niche conservatism and phylogenetic clustering in a tribe of arid-adapted marsupial mice, the Sminthopsini.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Navas, Vicente; Westerman, Michael

    2018-05-28

    The progressive expansion of the Australian arid zone during the last 20 Ma appears to have spurred the diversification of several families of plants, vertebrates and invertebrates, yet such taxonomic groups appear to show limited niche radiation. Here, we test whether speciation is associated with niche conservatism (constraints on ecological divergence) or niche divergence in a tribe of marsupial mice (Sminthopsini; 23 taxa) that includes the most speciose genus of living dasyurids, the sminthopsins. To that end, we integrated phylogenetic data with ecological niche modelling, to enable us to reconstruct the evolution of climatic suitability within Sminthopsini. Niche overlap among species was low-moderate (but generally higher than expected given environmental background similarity), and the degree of phylogenetic clustering increased with aridity. Climatic niche reconstruction illustrates that there has been little apparent evolution of climatic tolerance within clades. Accordingly, climatic disparity tends to be accumulated among clades, suggesting considerable niche conservatism. Our results also indicate that evolution of climatic tolerances has been heterogeneous across different dimensions of climate (temperature vs. precipitation) and across phylogenetic clusters (Sminthopsis murina group vs. other groups). Although some results point to the existence of shifts in climatic niches during the speciation of sminthopsins, our study provides evidence for substantial phylogenetic niche conservatism in the group. We conclude that niche diversification had a low impact on the speciation of this tribe of small, but highly mobile marsupials. © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  16. Two-stage treatment protocol of keratocystic odontogenic tumour in young patients with Gorlin-Goltz syndrome: marsupialization and later enucleation with peripheral ostectomy. A 5-year-follow-up experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borgonovo, Andrea Enrico; Di Lascia, Stefano; Grossi, Giovanni; Maiorana, Carlo

    2011-12-01

    Keratocystic odontogenic tumour (KCOT) is a benign uni- or multicystic intraosseous odontogenic tumour with potential for local destruction and tendency for multiplicity, especially when associated with Gorlin-Goltz syndrome. We suggest a conservative surgical treatment based on marsupialization and later enucleation with peripheral ostectomy in order to preserve jaw's integrity in young patients. Three young patients affected of nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS or Gorlin-Goltz syndrome) presented large and multiple KCOTs, which have been treated following a two-stage surgical strategy. Initially marsupialization was performed and after a mean period of 10 months, contextually to evident reduction in radiological size image, enucleation with peripheral ostectomy was carried out. All the patients showed high collaboration in daily self-irrigation of the stomia with chlorhexidine 0.2% during the period of marsupialization. Definitive surgical intervention led to complete healing and no signs of recurrence have been observed during a 5-year-follow-up. The main advantage of this modality is the preservation of important anatomical structures involved in the lesion and jaw's continuity. Therefore in a selected group of cooperative patients, especially those affected of Gorlin-Goltz syndrome, the surgical protocol exposed allows for a less invasive approach with excellent results avoiding extensive disfiguring procedures. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  17. Analytical Study of Usage of Electronic Information Resources at Pharmacopoeial Libraries in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunil Tyagi

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to know the rate and purpose of the use of e-resource by the scientists at pharmacopoeial libraries in India. Among other things, this study examined the preferences of the scientists toward printed books and journals, electronic information resources, and pattern of using e-resources. Non-probability sampling specially accidental and purposive technique was applied in the collection of primary data through administration of user questionnaire. The sample respondents chosen for the study consists of principle scientific officer, senior scientific officer, scientific officer, and scientific assistant of different division of the laboratories, namely, research and development, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacovigilance, pharmacology, pharmacogonosy, and microbiology. The findings of the study reveal the personal experiences and perceptions they have had on practice and research activity using e-resource. The major findings indicate that of the total anticipated participants, 78% indicated that they perceived the ability to use computer for electronic information resources. The data analysis shows that all the scientists belonging to the pharmacopoeial libraries used electronic information resources to address issues relating to drug indexes and compendia, monographs, drugs obtained through online databases, e-journals, and the Internet sources—especially polices by regulatory agencies, contacts, drug promotional literature, and standards.

  18. Page 170 Use of Electronic Resources by Undergraduates in Two ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    undergraduate students use electronic resources such as NUC virtual library, HINARI, ... web pages articles from magazines, encyclopedias, pamphlets and other .... of Nigerian university libraries have Internet connectivity, some of the system.

  19. Model of e-learning with electronic educational resources of new generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Loban

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the article: improving of scientific and methodical base of the theory of the е-learning of variability. Methods used: conceptual and logical modeling of the е-learning of variability process with electronic educational resource of new generation and system analysis of the interconnection of the studied subject area, methods, didactics approaches and information and communication technologies means. Results: the formalization complex model of the е-learning of variability with electronic educational resource of new generation is developed, conditionally decomposed into three basic components: the formalization model of the course in the form of the thesaurusclassifier (“Author of e-resource”, the model of learning as management (“Coordination. Consultation. Control”, the learning model with the thesaurus-classifier (“Student”. Model “Author of e-resource” allows the student to achieve completeness, high degree of didactic elaboration and structuring of the studied material in triples of variants: modules of education information, practical task and control tasks; the result of the student’s (author’s of e-resource activity is the thesaurus-classifier. Model of learning as management is based on the principle of personal orientation of learning in computer environment and determines the logic of interaction between the lecturer and the student when determining the triple of variants individually for each student; organization of a dialogue between the lecturer and the student for consulting purposes; personal control of the student’s success (report generation and iterative search for the concept of the class assignment in the thesaurus-classifier before acquiring the required level of training. Model “Student” makes it possible to concretize the learning tasks in relation to the personality of the student and to the training level achieved; the assumption of the lecturer about the level of training of a

  20. A survey of the use of electronic scientific information resources among medical and dental students

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    Aarnio Matti

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To evaluate medical and dental students' utilization of electronic information resources. Methods A web survey sent to 837 students (49.9% responded. Results Twenty-four per cent of medical students and ninteen per cent of dental students searched MEDLINE 2+ times/month for study purposes, and thiry-two per cent and twenty-four per cent respectively for research. Full-text articles were used 2+ times/month by thirty-three per cent of medical and ten per cent of dental students. Twelve per cent of respondents never utilized either MEDLINE or full-text articles. In multivariate models, the information-searching skills among students were significantly associated with use of MEDLINE and full-text articles. Conclusion Use of electronic resources differs among students. Forty percent were non-users of full-text articles. Information-searching skills are correlated with the use of electronic resources, but the level of basic PC skills plays not a major role in using these resources. The student data shows that adequate training in information-searching skills will increase the use of electronic information resources.

  1. Can individual and social patterns of resource use buffer animal populations against resource decline?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sam C Banks

    Full Text Available Species in many ecosystems are facing declines of key resources. If we are to understand and predict the effects of resource loss on natural populations, we need to understand whether and how the way animals use resources changes under resource decline. We investigated how the abundance of arboreal marsupials varies in response to a critical resource, hollow-bearing trees. Principally, we asked what mechanisms mediate the relationship between resources and abundance? Do animals use a greater or smaller proportion of the remaining resource, and is there a change in cooperative resource use (den sharing, as the availability of hollow trees declines? Analyses of data from 160 sites surveyed from 1997 to 2007 showed that hollow tree availability was positively associated with abundance of the mountain brushtail possum, the agile antechinus and the greater glider. The abundance of Leadbeater's possum was primarily influenced by forest age. Notably, the relationship between abundance and hollow tree availability was significantly less than 1:1 for all species. This was due primarily to a significant increase by all species in the proportional use of hollow-bearing trees where the abundance of this resource was low. The resource-sharing response was weaker and inconsistent among species. Two species, the mountain brushtail possum and the agile antechinus, showed significant but contrasting relationships between the number of animals per occupied tree and hollow tree abundance. The discrepancies between the species can be explained partly by differences in several aspects of the species' biology, including body size, types of hollows used and social behaviour as it relates to hollow use. Our results show that individual and social aspects of resource use are not always static in response to resource availability and support the need to account for dynamic resource use patterns in predictive models of animal distribution and abundance.

  2. Access to electronic information resources by students of federal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper discusses access to electronic information resources by students of Federal Colleges of Education in Eha-Amufu and Umunze. Descriptive survey design was used to investigate sample of 526 students. Sampling technique used was a Multi sampling technique. Data for the study were generated using ...

  3. Adoption and use of electronic information resources by medical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated the adoption and use of electronic information resources by medical science students of the University of Benin. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study and 390 students provided the data. Data collected were analysed with descriptive Statistics(Simple percentage and ...

  4. Where Do Electronic Books Fit in the College Research Arsenal of Resources?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbier, Patricia

    2007-01-01

    Student use of electronic books has become an accepted supplement to traditional resources. Student use and satisfaction was monitored through an online course discussion board. Increased use of electronic books indicate this service is an accepted supplement to the print book collection.

  5. Strategic Planning for Electronic Resources Management: A Case Study at Gustavus Adolphus College

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulseberg, Anna; Monson, Sarah

    2009-01-01

    Electronic resources, the tools we use to manage them, and the needs and expectations of our users are constantly evolving; at the same time, the roles, responsibilities, and workflow of the library staff who manage e-resources are also in flux. Recognizing a need to be more intentional and proactive about how we manage e-resources, the…

  6. REVIEW OF MOODLE PLUGINS FOR DESIGNING MULTIMEDIA ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FROM LANGUAGE DISCIPLINES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton M. Avramchuk

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Today the problem of designing multimedia electronic educational resources from language disciplines in Moodle is very important. This system has a lot of different, powerful resources, plugins to facilitate the learning of students with language disciplines. This article presents an overview and comparative analysis of the five Moodle plugins for designing multimedia electronic educational resources from language disciplines. There have been considered their key features and functionality in order to choose the best for studying language disciplines in the Moodle. Plugins are compared by a group of experts according to the criteria: efficiency, functionality and easy use. For a comparative analysis of the plugins it is used the analytic hierarchy process.

  7. Modern ICT Tools: Online Electronic Resources Sharing Using Web ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Modern ICT Tools: Online Electronic Resources Sharing Using Web 2.0 and Its Implications For Library And Information Practice In Nigeria. ... The PDF file you selected should load here if your Web browser has a PDF reader plug-in installed (for example, a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader). If you would like more ...

  8. Cytochrome P450 CYP3A in marsupials: cloning and identification of the first CYP3A subfamily member, isoform 3A70 from Eastern gray kangaroo (Macropus giganteus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Merhibi, Adaweyah; Ngo, Suong N T; Marchant, Ceilidh L; Height, Tamara A; Stupans, Ieva; McKinnon, Ross A

    2012-09-15

    Australian marsupials are unique fauna that have evolved and adapted to unique environments and thus it is likely that their detoxification systems differ considerably from those of well-studied eutherian mammals. Knowledge of these processes in marsupials is therefore vital to understanding the consequences of exposure to xenobiotics. Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are critically important in the oxidative metabolism of a diverse array of both xenobiotics and endogenous substrates. In this study we have cloned and characterized CYP3A70, the first identified member of the CYP3A gene subfamily from Eastern gray kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). A 1665 base pair kangaroo hepatic CYP3A complete cDNA, designated CYP3A70, was cloned by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction approaches, which encodes a protein of 506 amino acids. The CYP3A70 cDNA shares approximately 71% nucleotide and 65% amino acid sequence homology to human CYP3A4 and displays high sequence similarity to other published mammalian CYP3As from human, monkey, cow, pig, dog, rat, rabbit, mouse, hamster, and guinea pig. Transfection of the CYP3A70 cDNAs into 293T cells resulted in stable cell lines expressing a CYP3A immuno-reactive protein that was recognized by a goat anti-human CYP3A4 polyclonal antibody. The anti-human CYP3A4 antibody also detected immunoreactive proteins in liver microsomes from all test marsupials, including the kangaroo, koala, wallaby, and wombat, with multiple CYP3A immunoreactive bands observed in kangaroo and wallaby tissues. Relatively, very low CYP catalytic activity was detected for the kangaroo CYP3A70 cDNA-expressed proteins (19.6 relative luminescent units/μg protein), which may be due to low protein expression levels. Collectively, this study provides primary molecular data regarding the Eastern kangaroo hepatic CYP3A70 gene and enables further functional analyses of CYP3A enzymes in marsupials. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. THE MODEL OF LINGUISTIC TEACHERS’ COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT ON DESIGNING MULTIMEDIA ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN THE MOODLE SYSTEM

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    Anton M. Avramchuk

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of developing the competency of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system. The concept of "the competence of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system" is justified and defined. Identified and characterized the components by which the levels of the competency development of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system should be assessed. Developed a model for the development of the competency of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system, which is based on the main scientific approaches, used in adult education, and consists of five blocks: target, informative, technological, diagnostic and effective.

  10. Developing Humanities Collections in the Digital Age: Exploring Humanities Faculty Engagement with Electronic and Print Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachaluba, Sarah Buck; Brady, Jessica Evans; Critten, Jessica

    2014-01-01

    This article is based on quantitative and qualitative research examining humanities scholars' understandings of the advantages and disadvantages of print versus electronic information resources. It explores how humanities' faculty members at Florida State University (FSU) use print and electronic resources, as well as how they perceive these…

  11. Electronic resource management systems a workflow approach

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    Anderson, Elsa K

    2014-01-01

    To get to the bottom of a successful approach to Electronic Resource Management (ERM), Anderson interviewed staff at 11 institutions about their ERM implementations. Among her conclusions, presented in this issue of Library Technology Reports, is that grasping the intricacies of your workflow-analyzing each step to reveal the gaps and problems-at the beginning is crucial to selecting and implementing an ERM. Whether the system will be used to fill a gap, aggregate critical data, or replace a tedious manual process, the best solution for your library depends on factors such as your current soft

  12. Electronic Resource Management System. Vernetzung von Lizenzinformationen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michaela Selbach

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In den letzten zehn Jahren spielen elektronische Ressourcen im Bereich der Erwerbung eine zunehmend wichtige Rolle: Eindeutig lässt sich hier ein Wandel in den Bibliotheken (fort vom reinen Printbestand zu immer größeren E-Only-Beständen feststellen. Die stetig wachsende Menge an E-Ressourcen und deren Heterogenität stellt Bibliotheken vor die Herausforderung, die E-Ressourcen effizient zu verwalten. Nicht nur Bibliotheken, sondern auch verhandlungsführende Institutionen von Konsortial- und Allianzlizenzen benötigen ein geeignetes Instrument zur Verwaltung von Lizenzinformationen, welches den komplexen Anforderungen moderner E-Ressourcen gerecht wird. Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG unterstützt ein Projekt des Hochschulbibliothekszentrums des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (hbz, der Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg, der Verbundzentrale des Gemeinsamen Bibliotheksverbundes (GBV und der Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt, in dem ein bundesweit verfügbares Electronic Ressource Managementsystem (ERMS aufgebaut werden soll. Ein solches ERMS soll auf Basis einer zentralen Knowledge Base eine einheitliche Nutzung von Daten zur Lizenzverwaltung elektronischer Ressourcen auf lokaler, regionaler und nationaler Ebene ermöglichen. Statistische Auswertungen, Rechteverwaltung für alle angeschlossenen Bibliotheken, kooperative Datenpflege sowie ein über standardisierte Schnittstellen geführter Datenaustausch stehen bei der Erarbeitung der Anforderungen ebenso im Fokus wie die Entwicklung eines Daten- und Funktionsmodells. In the last few years the importance of electronic resources in library acquisitions has increased significantly. There has been a shift from mere print holdings to both e- and print combinations and even e-only subscriptions. This shift poses a double challenge for libraries: On the one hand they have to provide their e-resource collections to library users in an appealing way, on the other hand they have to manage these

  13. The Electron Microscopy Outreach Program: A Web-based resource for research and education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sosinsky, G E; Baker, T S; Hand, G; Ellisman, M H

    1999-01-01

    We have developed a centralized World Wide Web (WWW)-based environment that serves as a resource of software tools and expertise for biological electron microscopy. A major focus is molecular electron microscopy, but the site also includes information and links on structural biology at all levels of resolution. This site serves to help integrate or link structural biology techniques in accordance with user needs. The WWW site, called the Electron Microscopy (EM) Outreach Program (URL: http://emoutreach.sdsc.edu), provides scientists with computational and educational tools for their research and edification. In particular, we have set up a centralized resource containing course notes, references, and links to image analysis and three-dimensional reconstruction software for investigators wanting to learn about EM techniques either within or outside of their fields of expertise. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

  14. Technical Communicator: A New Model for the Electronic Resources Librarian?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulseberg, Anna

    2016-01-01

    This article explores whether technical communicator is a useful model for electronic resources (ER) librarians. The fields of ER librarianship and technical communication (TC) originated and continue to develop in relation to evolving technologies. A review of the literature reveals four common themes for ER librarianship and TC. While the…

  15. Structure and expression of two nuclear receptor genes in marsupials: insights into the evolution of the antisense overlap between the α-thyroid hormone receptor and Rev-erbα

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    Brown M Scott

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Alternative processing of α-thyroid hormone receptor (TRα, NR1A1 mRNAs gives rise to two functionally antagonistic nuclear receptors: TRα1, the α-type receptor, and TRα2, a non-hormone binding variant that is found only in mammals. TRα2 shares an unusual antisense coding overlap with mRNA for Rev-erbα (NR1D1, another nuclear receptor protein. In this study we examine the structure and expression of these genes in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, in comparison with that of eutherian mammals and three other marsupial species, Didelphis virginiana, Potorous tridactylus and Macropus eugenii, in order to understand the evolution and regulatory role of this antisense overlap. Results The sequence, expression and genomic organization of mRNAs encoding TRα1 and Rev-erbα are very similar in the opossum and eutherian mammals. However, the sequence corresponding to the TRα2 coding region appears truncated by almost 100 amino acids. While expression of TRα1 and Rev-erbα was readily detected in all tissues of M. domestica ages 0 days to 18 weeks, TRα2 mRNA was not detected in any tissue or stage examined. These results contrast with the widespread and abundant expression of TRα2 in rodents and other eutherian mammals. To examine requirements for alternative splicing of TRα mRNAs, a series of chimeric minigenes was constructed. Results show that the opossum TRα2-specific 5' splice site sequence is fully competent for splicing but the sequence homologous to the TRα2 3' splice site is not, even though the marsupial sequences are remarkably similar to core splice site elements in rat. Conclusions Our results strongly suggest that the variant nuclear receptor isoform, TRα2, is not expressed in marsupials and that the antisense overlap between TRα and Rev-erbα thus is unique to eutherian mammals. Further investigation of the TRα and Rev-erbα genes in marsupial and eutherian species promises to yield

  16. Structure and expression of two nuclear receptor genes in marsupials: insights into the evolution of the antisense overlap between the α-thyroid hormone receptor and Rev-erbα

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background Alternative processing of α-thyroid hormone receptor (TRα, NR1A1) mRNAs gives rise to two functionally antagonistic nuclear receptors: TRα1, the α-type receptor, and TRα2, a non-hormone binding variant that is found only in mammals. TRα2 shares an unusual antisense coding overlap with mRNA for Rev-erbα (NR1D1), another nuclear receptor protein. In this study we examine the structure and expression of these genes in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, in comparison with that of eutherian mammals and three other marsupial species, Didelphis virginiana, Potorous tridactylus and Macropus eugenii, in order to understand the evolution and regulatory role of this antisense overlap. Results The sequence, expression and genomic organization of mRNAs encoding TRα1 and Rev-erbα are very similar in the opossum and eutherian mammals. However, the sequence corresponding to the TRα2 coding region appears truncated by almost 100 amino acids. While expression of TRα1 and Rev-erbα was readily detected in all tissues of M. domestica ages 0 days to 18 weeks, TRα2 mRNA was not detected in any tissue or stage examined. These results contrast with the widespread and abundant expression of TRα2 in rodents and other eutherian mammals. To examine requirements for alternative splicing of TRα mRNAs, a series of chimeric minigenes was constructed. Results show that the opossum TRα2-specific 5' splice site sequence is fully competent for splicing but the sequence homologous to the TRα2 3' splice site is not, even though the marsupial sequences are remarkably similar to core splice site elements in rat. Conclusions Our results strongly suggest that the variant nuclear receptor isoform, TRα2, is not expressed in marsupials and that the antisense overlap between TRα and Rev-erbα thus is unique to eutherian mammals. Further investigation of the TRα and Rev-erbα genes in marsupial and eutherian species promises to yield additional insight into the

  17. The extraordinary biology and development of marsupial frogs (Hemiphractidae) in comparison with fish, mammals, birds, amphibians and other animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Pino, Eugenia M

    2018-01-03

    The study of oogenesis and early development of frogs belonging to the family Hemiphractidae provide important comparison to the aquatic development of other frogs, such as Xenopus laevis, because reproduction on land characterizes the Hemiphractidae. In this review, the multinucleated oogenesis of the marsupial frog Flectonotus pygmaeus (Hemiphractidae) is analyzed and interpreted. In addition, the adaptations associated with the incubation of embryos in the pouch of the female marsupial frog Gastrotheca riobambae (Hemiphractidae) and the embryonic development of this frog are summarized. Moreover, G. riobambae gastrulation is compared with the gastrulation modes of Engystomops randi and Engystomops coloradorum (Leptodactylidae); Ceratophrys stolzmanni (Ceratophryidae); Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni and Espadarana callistomma (Centrolenidae); Ameerega bilinguis, Dendrobates auratus, Epipedobates anthonyi, Epipedobates machalilla, Epipedobates tricolor, and Hyloxalus vertebralis (Dendrobatidae); Eleutherodactylus coqui (Terrarana: Eleutherodactylidae), and X. laevis (Pipidae). The comparison indicated two modes of frog gastrulation. In X. laevis and in frogs with aquatic reproduction, convergent extension begins during gastrulation. In contrast, convergent extension occurs in the post-gastrula of frogs with terrestrial reproduction. These two modes of gastrulation resemble the transitions toward meroblastic cleavage found in ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii). In spite of this difference, the genes that guide early development seem to be highly conserved in frogs. I conclude that the shift of convergent extension to the post-gastrula accompanied the diversification of frog egg size and terrestrial reproductive modes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Comparative Myology and Evolution of Marsupials and Other Vertebrates, With Notes on Complexity, Bauplan, and "Scala Naturae".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diogo, Rui; Bello-Hellegouarch, Gaelle; Kohlsdorf, Tiana; Esteve-Altava, Borja; Molnar, Julia L

    2016-09-01

    Opossums are frequent subjects of developmental studies because marsupials share developmental features not seen in placentals and because Didelphimorpha is the sister-group of other extant Marsupialia. But is the adult marsupial muscular system markedly different from that of placentals or is it, like the skeletal system, very similar? We provide, for the first time, a brief description of all head and limb muscles of Didelphis virginiana based on our dissections and using a unifying nomenclature by integrating the data gathered in our long-term project on the development, homologies, and evolution of the muscles of all major vertebrate taxa. Our data indicate that there were many more muscle synapomorphic changes from the last common ancestor (LCA) of amniotes to the mammalian LCA (63) and from this LCA to the LCA of extant therians (48) than from this latter LCA to the LCA of extant placentals (10 or 11). Importantly, Didelphis is anatomically more plesiomorphic (only 14 changes from LCA of extant therians) than are rats (37 changes) and humans (63 changes), but its musculature is more complex (193 muscles) than that of humans (only 180 muscles). Of the 194 muscles of Didelphis, 172 (89%) are present in rats, meaning that their adult muscle anatomy is indeed very similar. This similarity supports the existence of a common, easy recognizable therian Bauplan, but one that is caused by developmental constraints and by evolutionary change driven by the needs of the embryos/neonates, rather than by a "goal" toward a specific adult plan/"archetype," as the name Bauplan suggests. Anat Rec, 299:1224-1255, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. MODEL OF AN ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE OF NEW GENERATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anatoliy V. Loban

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The mathematical structure of the modular architecture of an electronic educational resource (EER of new generation, which allows to decompose the process of studying the subjects of the course at a hierarchically ordered set of data (knowledge and procedures for manipulating them, to determine the roles of participants of process of training of and technology the development and use of EOR in the study procrate.

  20. Aerobic power, huddling and the efficiency of torpor in the South American marsupial, Dromiciops gliroides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcela Franco

    2012-09-01

    During periods of cold, small endotherms depend on a continuous supply of food and energy to maintain euthermic body temperature (Tb, which can be challenging if food is limited. In these conditions, energy-saving strategies are critical to reduce the energetic requirements for survival. Mammals from temperate regions show a wide arrange of such strategies, including torpor and huddling. Here we provide a quantitative description of thermoregulatory capacities and energy-saving strategies in Dromiciops gliroides, a Microbiotherid marsupial inhabiting temperate rain forests. Unlike many mammals from temperate regions, preliminary studies have suggested that this species has low capacity for control and regulation of body temperature, but there is still an incomplete picture of its bioenergetics. In order to more fully understand the physiological capacities of this “living fossil”, we measured its scope of aerobic power and the interaction between huddling and torpor. Specifically, we evaluated: (1 the relation between basal (BMR and maximum metabolic rate (MMR, and (2 the role of huddling on the characteristics of torpor at different temperatures. We found that BMR and MMR were above the expected values for marsupials and the factorial aerobic scope (from CO2 was 6.0±0.45 (using CO2 and 6.2±0.23 (using O2, an unusually low value for mammals. Also, repeatability of physiological variables was non-significant, as in previous studies, suggesting poor time-consistency of energy metabolism. Comparisons of energy expenditure and body temperature (using attached data-loggers between grouped and isolated individuals showed that at 20°C both average resting metabolic rate and body temperature were higher in groups, essentially because animals remained non-torpid. At 10°C, however, all individuals became torpid and no differences were observed between grouped and isolated individuals. In summary, our study suggests that the main response of Dromiciops gliroides to

  1. Evaporative water loss, relative water economy and evaporative partitioning of a heterothermic marsupial, the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Withers, Philip C; Cooper, Christine E; Nespolo, Roberto F

    2012-08-15

    We examine here evaporative water loss, economy and partitioning at ambient temperatures from 14 to 33°C for the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides), a microbiotheriid marsupial found only in temperate rainforests of Chile. The monito's standard evaporative water loss (2.58 mg g(-1) h(-1) at 30°C) was typical for a marsupial of its body mass and phylogenetic position. Evaporative water loss was independent of air temperature below thermoneutrality, but enhanced evaporative water loss and hyperthermia were the primary thermal responses above the thermoneutral zone. Non-invasive partitioning of total evaporative water loss indicated that respiratory loss accounted for 59-77% of the total, with no change in respiratory loss with ambient temperature, but a small change in cutaneous loss below thermoneutrality and an increase in cutaneous loss in and above thermoneutrality. Relative water economy (metabolic water production/evaporative water loss) increased at low ambient temperatures, with a point of relative water economy of 15.4°C. Thermolability had little effect on relative water economy, but conferred substantial energy savings at low ambient temperatures. Torpor reduced total evaporative water loss to as little as 21% of normothermic values, but relative water economy during torpor was poor even at low ambient temperatures because of the relatively greater reduction in metabolic water production than in evaporative water loss. The poor water economy of the monito during torpor suggests that negative water balance may explain why hibernators periodically arouse to normothermia, to obtain water by drinking or via an improved water economy.

  2. GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galina P. Lavrentieva

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The article highlights the causes of insufficient effective use of electronic learning resources and sets out the guidelines on ways to solve the aforementioned problems. The set of didactic, methodical, psychological, pedagogical, design and ergonomic quality requirements is considered for evaluation, selection and application of information and communication technologies in the educational process. The most appropriate mechanisms for the ICT introduction into the learning process are disclosed as it should meet the specific learning needs of the student and the objectives of the educational process. The guidance for psycho-educational assessment of quality of electronic educational resources is provided. It is argued that the effectiveness of the ICT use is to be improved by means of quality evaluation mechanisms involved into the educational process.

  3. Availability, Use and Constraints to Use of Electronic Information Resources by Postgraduates Students at the University of Ibadan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dare Samuel Adeleke

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Availability, awareness and use of electronic resources provide access to authoritative, reliable, accurate and timely access to information. The use of electronic information resources (EIRs can enable innovation in teaching and increase timeliness in research of postgraduate students which will eventual result into encouragement of the expected research-led enquiry in this digital age. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Samples of 300 of postgraduate students within seven out 13 Faculties were randomly selected. Data were collected using questionnaire designed to elicit response from respondents and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics methods percentages, mean, and standard deviation. Results indicated that internet was ranked most available and used in the university. Low level of usage of electronic resources, in particular, full texts data bases is linked to a number of constraints: Interrupted power supply was ranked highest among other factors as speed and capacity of computers, retrieval of records with high recall and low precision, retrieving records relevant to information need, lack of knowledge of search techniques to retrieve information effectively, non possession of requisite IT skills and problems accessing the internet. The study recommended that usage of electronic resources be made compulsory, intensifying awareness campaigns concerning the availability, training on use of electronic resources and the problem of power outage be addressed.

  4. A Study on Developing Evaluation Criteria for Electronic Resources in Evaluation Indicators of Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Younghee

    2010-01-01

    This study aimed to improve the current state of electronic resource evaluation in libraries. While the use of Web DB, e-book, e-journal, and other e-resources such as CD-ROM, DVD, and micro materials is increasing in libraries, their use is not comprehensively factored into the general evaluation of libraries and may diminish the reliability of…

  5. THE MODEL OF LINGUISTIC TEACHERS’ COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT ON DESIGNING MULTIMEDIA ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN THE MOODLE SYSTEM

    OpenAIRE

    Anton M. Avramchuk

    2017-01-01

    The article is devoted to the problem of developing the competency of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system. The concept of "the competence of teachers of language disciplines on designing multimedia electronic educational resources in the Moodle system" is justified and defined. Identified and characterized the components by which the levels of the competency development of teachers of language disciplines on designing ...

  6. Determining the level of awareness of the physicians in using the variety of electronic information resources and the effecting factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papi, Ahmad; Ghazavi, Roghayeh; Moradi, Salimeh

    2015-01-01

    Understanding of the medical society's from the types of information resources for quick and easy access to information is an imperative task in medical researches and management of the treatment. The present study was aimed to determine the level of awareness of the physicians in using various electronic information resources and the factors affecting it. This study was a descriptive survey. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The study population included all the physicians and specialty physicians of the teaching hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and numbered 350. The sample size based on Morgan's formula was set at 180. The content validity of the tool was confirmed by the library and information professionals and the reliability was 95%. Descriptive statistics were used including the SPSS software version 19. On reviewing the need of the physicians to obtain the information on several occasions, the need for information in conducting the researches was reported by the maximum number of physicians (91.9%) and the usage of information resources, especially the electronic resources, formed 65.4% as the highest rate with regard to meeting the information needs of the physicians. Among the electronic information databases, the maximum awareness was related to Medline with 86.5%. Among the various electronic information resources, the highest awareness (43.3%) was related to the E-journals. The highest usage (36%) was also from the same source. The studied physicians considered the most effective deterrent in the use of electronic information resources as being too busy and lack of time. Despite the importance of electronic information resources for the physician's community, there was no comprehensive knowledge of these resources. This can lead to less usage of these resources. Therefore, careful planning is necessary in the hospital libraries in order to introduce the facilities and full capabilities of the

  7. The evolution of imprinting: chromosomal mapping of orthologues of mammalian imprinted domains in monotreme and marsupial mammals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dunham Ian

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The evolution of genomic imprinting, the parental-origin specific expression of genes, is the subject of much debate. There are several theories to account for how the mechanism evolved including the hypothesis that it was driven by the evolution of X-inactivation, or that it arose from an ancestrally imprinted chromosome. Results Here we demonstrate that mammalian orthologues of imprinted genes are dispersed amongst autosomes in both monotreme and marsupial karyotypes. Conclusion These data, along with the similar distribution seen in birds, suggest that imprinted genes were not located on an ancestrally imprinted chromosome or associated with a sex chromosome. Our results suggest imprinting evolution was a stepwise, adaptive process, with each gene/cluster independently becoming imprinted as the need arose.

  8. Unifying principles in terrestrial locomotion: do hopping Australian marsupials fit in?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, M B

    2000-01-01

    Mammalian terrestrial locomotion has many unifying principles. However, the Macropodoidea are a particularly interesting group that exhibit a number of significant deviations from the principles that seem to apply to other mammals. While the properties of materials that comprise the musculoskeletal system of mammals are similar, evidence suggests that tendon properties in macropodoid marsupials may be size or function dependent, in contrast to the situation in placental mammals. Postural differences related to hopping versus running have a dramatic effect on the scaling of the pelvic limb musculoskeletal system. Ratios of muscle fibre to tendon cross-sectional areas for ankle extensors and digital flexors scale with positive allometry in all mammals, but exponents are significantly higher in macropods. Tendon safety factors decline with increasing body mass in mammals, with eutherians at risk of ankle extensor tendon rupture at a body mass of about 150 kg, whereas kangaroos encounter similar problems at a body mass of approximately 35 kg. Tendon strength appears to limit locomotor performance in these animals. Elastic strain energy storage in tendons is mass dependent in all mammals, but exponents are significantly larger in macropodid. Tibial stresses may scale with positive allometry in kangaroos, which result in lower bone safety factors in macropods compared to eutherian mammals.

  9. Managing Selection for Electronic Resources: Kent State University Develops a New System to Automate Selection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downey, Kay

    2012-01-01

    Kent State University has developed a centralized system that manages the communication and work related to the review and selection of commercially available electronic resources. It is an automated system that tracks the review process, provides selectors with price and trial information, and compiles reviewers' feedback about the resource. It…

  10. Use of space by neotropical marsupial Didelphis albiventris (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae in an urban forest fragment Uso do espaço pelo marsupial Neotropical Didelphis albiventris (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae em um fragmento florestal urbano

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex J. de Almeida

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available A population of the Neotropical marsupial Didelphis albiventris (Lund, 1840 living in an urban forest fragment was studied. Population structure and the influence of sex and age on two variables related to habitat use (Daily home range - MCP and Habitat use intensity - UI obtained by the spool-and-line technique were analysed. There were 20 males and 29 females studied (N = 49. No sexual dimorphism was apparent in adult individuals. There were 16 males and 24 females tracked using the spool-and-line device. There were significant differences found in the mean size of the daily home range, which was greater in adults than in sub-adults. Regarding the habitat use intensity there were also significant differences related to age. There were no significant differences in MCP and UI related to the sex of the individuals. Besides the analyzed factors, the variables related to habitat use are possibly influenced by other factors, especially, the ones related to the conservation status of the fragment.Neste estudo foi analisada uma população do marsupial neotropical Didelphis albiventris (Lund, 1840, em um fragmento florestal urbano, e foram analisados aspectos da estrutura da população, e a influência do sexo e da idade em duas variáveis relativas ao uso do hábitat - Área de Vida Diária (MCP e Intensidade de Uso do Hábitat (UI, obtidas com a técnica do carretel de rastreamento. Foram estudados 49 indivíduos marcados, dos quais 20 eram machos e 29 eram fêmeas. Dos animais adultos, não foi encontrado qualquer dimorfismo sexual. De 40 indivíduos rastreados com carretel (16 machos, 24 fêmeas, diferenças significativas no MCP foram encontradas, sendo que os indivíduos adultos apresentaram tamanhos médios maiores que os sub-adultos. Quanto à UI, diferenças significativas foram observadas também relacionadas à idade. Não foram encontradas diferenças entre sexos com relação ao MCP e IU. Além dos fatores analisados, as vari

  11. End-of-life resource recovery from emerging electronic products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parajuly, Keshav; Habib, Komal; Cimpan, Ciprian

    2016-01-01

    Integrating product design with appropriate end-of-life (EoL) processing is widely recognized to have huge potentials in improving resource recovery from electronic products. In this study, we investigate both the product characteristics and EoL processing of robotic vacuum cleaner (RVC), as a case...... of emerging electronic product, in order to understand the recovery fate of different materials and its linkage to product design. Ten different brands of RVC were dismantled and their material composition and design profiles were studied. Another 125 RVCs (349 kg) were used for an experimental trial...... at a conventional ‘shred-and-separate’ type preprocessing plant in Denmark. A detailed material flow analysis was performed throughout the recycling chain. The results show a mismatch between product design and EoL processing, and the lack of practical implementation of ‘Design for EoL’ thinking. In the best...

  12. Porphyromonas loveana sp. nov., isolated from the oral cavity of Australian marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bird, Philip S; Trott, Darren J; Mikkelsen, Deirdre; Milinovich, Gabriel J; Hillman, Kristine M; Burrell, Paul C; Blackall, Linda L

    2016-10-01

    An obligatory anaerobic, Gram-stain-negative coccobacillus with black-pigmented colonies was isolated from the oral cavity of selected Australian marsupial species. Phenotypic and molecular criteria showed that this bacterium was a distinct species within the genus Porphyromonas, and was closely related to Porphyromonas gingivalis and Porphyromonas gulae. This putative novel species and P. gulae could be differentiated from P. gingivalis by catalase activity. Further characterization by multi-locus enzyme electrophoresis of glutamate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase enzyme mobility and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS showed that this putative novel species could be differentiated phenotypically from P. gingivalis and P. gulae. Definitive identification by 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that this bacterium belonged to a unique monophyletic lineage, phylogenetically distinct from P. gingivalis (94.9 % similarity) and P. gulae (95.5 %). This also was supported by 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region and glutamate dehydrogenase gene sequencing. A new species epithet, Porphyromonas loveana sp. nov., is proposed for this bacterium, with DSM 28520T (=NCTC 13658T=UQD444T=MRK101T), isolated from a musky rat kangaroo, as the type strain.

  13. Use of electronic sales data to tailor nutrition education resources for an ethnically diverse population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eyles, H; Rodgers, A; Ni Mhurchu, C

    2010-02-01

    Nutrition education may be most effective when personally tailored. Individualised electronic supermarket sales data offer opportunities to tailor nutrition education using shopper's usual food purchases. The present study aimed to use individualised electronic supermarket sales data to tailor nutrition resources for an ethnically diverse population in a large supermarket intervention trial in New Zealand. Culturally appropriate nutrition education resources (i.e. messages and shopping lists) were developed with the target population (through two sets of focus groups) and ethnic researchers. A nutrient database of supermarket products was developed using retrospective sales data and linked to participant sales to allow tailoring by usual food purchases. Modified Heart Foundation Tick criteria were used to identify 'healthier' products in the database suitable for promotion in the resources. Rules were developed to create a monthly report listing the tailored and culturally targeted messages to be sent to each participant, and to produce automated, tailored shopping lists. Culturally targeted nutrition messages (n = 864) and shopping lists (n = 3 formats) were developed. The food and nutrient database (n = 3000 top-selling products) was created using 12 months of retrospective sales data, and comprised 60%'healthier' products. Three months of baseline sales data were used to determine usual food purchases. Tailored resources were successfully mailed to 123 Māori, 52 Pacific and 346 non-Māori non-Pacific participants over the 6-month trial intervention period. Electronic supermarket sales data can be used to tailor nutrition education resources for a large number of ethnically diverse supermarket shoppers.

  14. Availability, Level of Use and Constraints to Use of Electronic Resources by Law Lecturers in Public Universities in Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amusa, Oyintola Isiaka; Atinmo, Morayo

    2016-01-01

    (Purpose) This study surveyed the level of availability, use and constraints to use of electronic resources among law lecturers in Nigeria. (Methodology) Five hundred and fifty-two law lecturers were surveyed and four hundred and forty-two responded. (Results) Data analysis revealed that the level of availability of electronic resources for the…

  15. A systematic review of portable electronic technology for health education in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McHenry, Megan S; Fischer, Lydia J; Chun, Yeona; Vreeman, Rachel C

    2017-08-01

    The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the literature of how portable electronic technologies with offline functionality are perceived and used to provide health education in resource-limited settings. Three reviewers evaluated articles and performed a bibliography search to identify studies describing health education delivered by portable electronic device with offline functionality in low- or middle-income countries. Data extracted included: study population; study design and type of analysis; type of technology used; method of use; setting of technology use; impact on caregivers, patients, or overall health outcomes; and reported limitations. Searches yielded 5514 unique titles. Out of 75 critically reviewed full-text articles, 10 met inclusion criteria. Study locations included Botswana, Peru, Kenya, Thailand, Nigeria, India, Ghana, and Tanzania. Topics addressed included: development of healthcare worker training modules, clinical decision support tools, patient education tools, perceptions and usability of portable electronic technology, and comparisons of technologies and/or mobile applications. Studies primarily looked at the assessment of developed educational modules on trainee health knowledge, perceptions and usability of technology, and comparisons of technologies. Overall, studies reported positive results for portable electronic device-based health education, frequently reporting increased provider/patient knowledge, improved patient outcomes in both quality of care and management, increased provider comfort level with technology, and an environment characterized by increased levels of technology-based, informal learning situations. Negative assessments included high investment costs, lack of technical support, and fear of device theft. While the research is limited, portable electronic educational resources present promising avenues to increase access to effective health education in resource-limited settings, contingent

  16. SAGES: a suite of freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheri L Lewis

    Full Text Available Public health surveillance is undergoing a revolution driven by advances in the field of information technology. Many countries have experienced vast improvements in the collection, ingestion, analysis, visualization, and dissemination of public health data. Resource-limited countries have lagged behind due to challenges in information technology infrastructure, public health resources, and the costs of proprietary software. The Suite for Automated Global Electronic bioSurveillance (SAGES is a collection of modular, flexible, freely-available software tools for electronic disease surveillance in resource-limited settings. One or more SAGES tools may be used in concert with existing surveillance applications or the SAGES tools may be used en masse for an end-to-end biosurveillance capability. This flexibility allows for the development of an inexpensive, customized, and sustainable disease surveillance system. The ability to rapidly assess anomalous disease activity may lead to more efficient use of limited resources and better compliance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations.

  17. Use and Cost of Electronic Resources in Central Library of Ferdowsi University Based on E-metrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Reza Davarpanah

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the usage of electronic journals in Ferdowsi University, Iran based on e-metrics. The paper also aimed to emphasize the analysis of cost-benefit and the correlation between the journal impact factors and the usage data. In this study experiences of Ferdowsi University library on licensing and usage of electronic resources was evaluated by providing a cost-benefit analysis based on the cost and usage statistics of electronic resources. Vendor-provided data were also compared with local usage data. The usage data were collected by tracking web-based access locally, and by collecting vender-provided usage data. The data sources were one-year of vendor-supplied e-resource usage data such as Ebsco, Elsevier, Proquest, Emerald, Oxford and Springer and local usage data collected from the Ferdowsi university web server. The study found that actual usage values differ for vendor-provided data and local usage data. Elsevier has got the highest usage degree in searches, sessions and downloads. Statistics also showed that a small number of journals satisfy significant amount of use while the majority of journals were used less frequent and some were never used at all. The users preferred the PDF rather than HTML format. The data in subject profile suggested that the provided e-resources were best suited to certain subjects. There was no correlation between IF and electronic journal use. Monitoring the usage of e-resources gained increasing importance for acquisition policy and budget decisions. The article provided information about local metrics for the six surveyed vendors/publishers, e.g. usage trends, requests per package, cost per use as related to the scientific specialty of the university.

  18. Building and Managing Electronic Resources in Digital Era in India with Special Reference to IUCAA and NIV, Pune: A Comparative Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, H. K.; Singh, S. N.

    2015-04-01

    This paper discusses and presents a comparative case study of two libraries in Pune, India, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics and Information Centre and Library of National Institute of Virology (Indian Council of Medical Research). It compares how both libraries have managed their e-resource collections, including acquisitions, subscriptions, and consortia arrangements, while also developing a collection of their own resources, including pre-prints and publications, video lectures, and other materials in an institutional repository. This study illustrates how difficult it is to manage electronic resources in a developing country like India, even though electronic resources are used more than print resources. Electronic resource management can be daunting, but with a systematic approach, various problems can be solved, and use of the materials will be enhanced.

  19. Locomotor pattern fails to predict foramen magnum angle in rodents, strepsirrhine primates, and marsupials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruth, Aidan A; Raghanti, Mary Ann; Meindl, Richard S; Lovejoy, C Owen

    2016-05-01

    Foramen magnum position has traditionally been used as an indicator of bipedality because it has been thought to favor a more "balanced" skull position. Here, we analyzed foramen magnum angle (FMA) in relation to locomotion in three mammalian orders that include bipedal or orthograde species in addition to quadrupedal or pronograde species. In marsupials and strepsirrhine primates, we found that there is no relationship between locomotor pattern and FMA. In rodents, we found that there is a significant difference in FMA between bipedal and quadrupedal rodents. However, when these species are analyzed in the context of enlarged auditory bullae, this relationship is no longer significant. Additionally, we find a significant relationship between relative brain size and FMA in strepsirrhine primates. Taken together, these data indicate that several developmental modules of the cranium influence FMA, but that locomotion does not. We caution that basicranial evolution is a complex phenomenon that must be explored in the context of each taxon's unique evolutionary and developmental history. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Formation of the hindgut cuticular lining during embryonic development of Porcellio scaber (Crustacea, Isopoda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Polona Mrak

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The hindgut and foregut in terrestrial isopod crustaceans are ectodermal parts of the digestive system and are lined by cuticle, an apical extracellular matrix secreted by epithelial cells. Morphogenesis of the digestive system was reported in previous studies, but differentiation of the gut cuticle was not followed in detail. This study is focused on ultrastructural analyses of hindgut apical matrices and cuticle in selected intramarsupial developmental stages of the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber in comparison to adult animals to obtain data on the hindgut cuticular lining differentiation. Our results show that in late embryos of stages 16 and 18 the apical matrix in the hindgut consists of loose material overlaid by a thin intensely ruffled electron dense lamina facing the lumen. The ultrastructural resemblance to the embryonic epidermal matrices described in several arthropods suggests a common principle in chitinous matrix differentiation. The hindgut matrix in the prehatching embryo of stage 19 shows characteristics of the hindgut cuticle, specifically alignment to the apical epithelial surface and a prominent electron dense layer of epicuticle. In the preceding embryonic stage – stage 18 – an electron dense lamina, closely apposed to the apical cell membrane, is evident and is considered as the first epicuticle formation. In marsupial mancae the advanced features of the hindgut cuticle and epithelium are evident: a more prominent epicuticular layer, formation of cuticular spines and an extensive apical labyrinth. In comparison to the hindgut cuticle of adults, the hindgut cuticle of marsupial manca and in particular the electron dense epicuticular layer are much thinner and the difference between cuticle architecture in the anterior chamber and in the papillate region is not yet distinguishable. Differences from the hindgut cuticle in adults imply not fully developed structure and function of the hindgut cuticle in marsupial

  1. Architectonic subdivisions of the amygdalar complex of a primitive marsupial (Didelphis aurita).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocha-Rego, V; Canteras, N S; Anomal, R F; Volchan, E; Franca, J G

    2008-05-15

    The architecture of the amygdaloid complex of a marsupial, the opossum Didelphis aurita, was analyzed using classical stains like Nissl staining and myelin (Gallyas) staining, and enzyme histochemistry for acetylcholinesterase and NADPH-diaphorase. Most of the subdivisions of the amygdaloid complex described in eutherian mammals were identified in the opossum brain. NADPH-diaphorase revealed reactivity in the neuropil of nearly all amygdaloid subdivisions with different intensities, allowing the identification of the medial and lateral subdivisions of the cortical posterior nucleus and the lateral subdivision of the lateral nucleus. The lateral, central, basolateral and basomedial nuclei exhibited acetylcholinesterase positivity, which provided a useful chemoarchitectural criterion for the identification of the anterior basolateral nucleus. Myelin stain allowed the identification of the medial subdivision of the lateral nucleus, and resulted in intense staining of the medial subdivisions of the central nucleus. The medial, posterior, and cortical nuclei, as well as the amygdalopiriform area did not exhibit positivity for myelin staining. On the basis of cyto- and chemoarchitectural criteria, the present study highlights that the opossum amygdaloid complex shares similarities with that of other species, thus supporting the idea that the organization of the amygdala is part of a basic plan conserved through mammalian evolution.

  2. [Use of internet and electronic resources among Spanish intensivist physicians. First national survey].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Tello, V; Latour-Pérez, J; Añón Elizalde, J M; Palencia-Herrejón, E; Díaz-Alersi, R; De Lucas-García, N

    2006-01-01

    Estimate knowledge and use habits of different electronic resources in a sample of Spanish intensivists: Internet, E-mail, distribution lists, and use of portable electronic devices. Self-applied questionnaire. A 50-question questionnaire was distributed among Spanish intensivists through the hospital marketing delegates of a pharmaceutical company and of electronic forums. A total of 682 questionnaires were analyzed (participation: 74%). Ninety six percent of those surveyed used Internet individually: 67% admitted training gap. Internet was the second source of clinical consultations most used (61%), slightly behind consultation to colleagues (65%). The pages consulted most were bibliographic databases (65%) and electronic professional journals (63%), with limited use of Evidence Based Medicine pages (19%). Ninety percent of those surveyed used e-mail regularly in the practice of their profession, although 25% admitted that were not aware of its possibilities. The use of E-mail decreased significantly with increase in age. A total of 62% of the intensivists used distribution lists. Of the rest, 42% were not aware of its existence and 32% admitted they had insufficient training to handle them. Twenty percent of those surveyed had portable electronic devices and 64% considered it useful, basically due to its rapid consultation at bedside. Female gender was a negative predictive factor of its use (OR 0.35; 95% CI 0.2-0.63; p=0.0002). A large majority of the Spanish intensivists use Internet and E-mail. E-mail lists and use of portable devices are still underused resources. There are important gaps in training and infrequent use of essential pages. There are specific groups that require directed educational policies.

  3. Model of e-learning with electronic educational resources of new generation

    OpenAIRE

    A. V. Loban; D. A. Lovtsov

    2017-01-01

    Purpose of the article: improving of scientific and methodical base of the theory of the е-learning of variability. Methods used: conceptual and logical modeling of the е-learning of variability process with electronic educational resource of new generation and system analysis of the interconnection of the studied subject area, methods, didactics approaches and information and communication technologies means. Results: the formalization complex model of the е-learning of variability with elec...

  4. Non-invasive evaluation of physiological stress in an iconic Australian marsupial: the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayan, Edward J; Webster, Koa; Nicolson, Vere; Mucci, Al; Hero, Jean-Marc

    2013-06-15

    Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are the only extant representatives of Australia's unique marsupial family Phascolarctidae and were listed as nationally Vulnerable in 2012. Causes of mortality are diverse, although the disease chlamydiosis, dog attacks, collisions with cars, and loss of habitat represent the principal reasons for the continued species decline. Koala breeding facilities in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia have been established for conservation and tourism. Non-invasive monitoring of physiological stress is important for determining the sub-lethal effects of environmental stressors on the well-being, reproduction and survival of Koalas in Zoos and also in the wild. In this study, we developed a faecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) for monitoring physiological stress in Koalas from two established Zoos in Australia and also within a free-living sub-population from Queensland. Biological validation of the FCM EIA was done using an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge. We discovered excretory lag-times of FCM of 24 h in females (n=2) and 48 h in male (n=2) Koalas in response to the ACTH challenge. FCM levels showed an episodic and delayed peak response lasting up to 9 days post ACTH challenge. This finding should be taken into consideration when designing future experiments to study the impacts of short-term (acute) and chronic stressors on the Koalas. Laboratory validations were done using parallelism and recovery checks (extraction efficiency) of the cortisol standard against pooled Koala faecal extracts. Greater than 99% recovery of the cortisol standard was obtained as well as a parallel displacement curve against Koala faecal extracts. FCM levels of the captive Koalas (n=10 males and 13 females) significantly differed by sex, reproductive condition (lactating versus non-lactating Koalas) and the handling groups. Handled male Koalas had 200% higher FCM levels than their non-handled counterparts, while females

  5. First report of a spermatic granuloma and varicocele in a marsupial: A Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, B K; Palmieri, C; Nicolson, V; Larkin, R; Keeley, T; McGowan, M; Johnston, S D

    2016-08-01

    This study reports the first documented clinical case of a spermatic granuloma and varicocele in a marsupial. Initial clinical presentation included gross morphological changes in the left scrotal cord, epididymis and testis. Ultrasonography of the scrotum and spermatic cord, and gross and histopathological examination after hemicastration, confirmed the condition as a spermatic granuloma affecting the left caput epididymis, with a varicocele in the left proximal spermatic cord, which was causing azoospermia and infertility. Semen quality and serum testosterone secretion following a GnRH challenge was assessed prior to, and following surgery. After hemi-castration, an increase in androgen secretion to within normal reference ranges for the koala was observed with a subsequent increase in semen production and sperm quality resulting in the sire of a pouch young, 12months later. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Impact of Knowledge Resources Linked to an Electronic Health Record on Frequency of Unnecessary Tests and Treatments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Kenneth; Grad, Roland; Pluye, Pierre; Nowacki, Amy; Hickner, John

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Electronic knowledge resources have the potential to rapidly provide answers to clinicians' questions. We sought to determine clinicians' reasons for searching these resources, the rate of finding relevant information, and the perceived clinical impact of the information they retrieved. Methods: We asked general internists, family…

  7. Electronic Document Management: A Human Resource Management Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Groenewald

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available This case study serve as exemplar regarding what can go wrong with the implementation of an electronic document management system. Knowledge agility and knowledge as capital, is outlined against the backdrop of the information society and knowledge economy. The importance of electronic document management and control is sketched thereafter. The literature review is concluded with the impact of human resource management on knowledge agility, which includes references to the learning organisation and complexity theory. The intervention methodology, comprising three phases, follows next. The results of the three phases are presented thereafter. Partial success has been achieved with improving the human efficacy of electronic document management, however the client opted to discontinue the system in use. Opsomming Die gevalle studie dien as voorbeeld van wat kan verkeerd loop met die implementering van ’n elektroniese dokumentbestuur sisteem. Teen die agtergrond van die inligtingsgemeenskap en kennishuishouding word kennissoepelheid en kennis as kapitaal bespreek. Die literatuurstudie word afgesluit met die inpak van menslikehulpbronbestuur op kennissoepelheid, wat ook die verwysings na die leerorganisasie en kompleksietydsteorie insluit. Die metodologie van die intervensie, wat uit drie fases bestaan, volg daarna. Die resultate van die drie fases word vervolgens aangebied. Slegs gedeelte welslae is behaal met die verbetering van die menslike doeltreffendheid ten opsigte van elektroniese dokumentbestuur. Die klient besluit egter om nie voort te gaan om die huidige sisteem te gebruik nie.

  8. Challenges in the implementation of an electronic surveillance system in a resource-limited setting: Alerta, in Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soto Giselle

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Infectious disease surveillance is a primary public health function in resource-limited settings. In 2003, an electronic disease surveillance system (Alerta was established in the Peruvian Navy with support from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center Detachment (NMRCD. Many challenges arose during the implementation process, and a variety of solutions were applied. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss these issues. Methods This is a retrospective description of the Alerta implementation. After a thoughtful evaluation according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC guidelines, the main challenges to implementation were identified and solutions were devised in the context of a resource-limited setting, Peru. Results After four years of operation, we have identified a number of challenges in implementing and operating this electronic disease surveillance system. These can be divided into the following categories: (1 issues with personnel and stakeholders; (2 issues with resources in a developing setting; (3 issues with processes involved in the collection of data and operation of the system; and (4 issues with organization at the central hub. Some of the challenges are unique to resource-limited settings, but many are applicable for any surveillance system. For each of these challenges, we developed feasible solutions that are discussed. Conclusion There are many challenges to overcome when implementing an electronic disease surveillance system, not only related to technology issues. A comprehensive approach is required for success, including: technical support, personnel management, effective training, and cultural sensitivity in order to assure the effective deployment of an electronic disease surveillance system.

  9. HOXA13 and HOXD13 expression during development of the syndactylous digits in the marsupial Macropus eugenii

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    Chew Keng Yih

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Kangaroos and wallabies have specialised limbs that allow for their hopping mode of locomotion. The hindlimbs differentiate much later in development but become much larger than the forelimbs. The hindlimb autopod has only four digits, the fourth of which is greatly elongated, while digits two and three are syndactylous. We investigated the expression of two genes, HOXA13 and HOXD13, that are crucial for digit patterning in mice during formation of the limbs of the tammar wallaby. Results We describe the development of the tammar limbs at key stages before birth. There was marked heterochrony and the hindlimb developed more slowly than the forelimb. Both tammar HOXA13 and HOXD13 have two exons as in humans, mice and chickens. HOXA13 had an early and distal mRNA distribution in the tammar limb bud as in the mouse, but forelimb expression preceded that in the hindlimb. HOXD13 mRNA was expressed earlier in the forelimb than the hindlimb and was predominantly detected in the interdigital tissues of the forelimb. In contrast, the hindlimb had a more restricted expression pattern that appeared to be expressed at discrete points at both posterior and anterior margins of the limb bud, and was unlike expression seen in the mouse and the chicken. Conclusions This is the first examination of HOXA and HOXD gene expression in a marsupial. The gene structure and predicted proteins were highly conserved with their eutherian orthologues. Interestingly, despite the morphological differences in hindlimb patterning, there were no modifications to the polyalanine tract of either HOXA13 or HOXD13 when compared to those of the mouse and bat but there was a marked difference between the tammar and the other mammals in the region of the first polyserine tract of HOXD13. There were also altered expression domains for both genes in the developing tammar limbs compared to the chicken and mouse. Together these findings suggest that the timing of HOX

  10. Considering Point-of-Care Electronic Medical Resources in Lieu of Traditional Textbooks for Medical Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hale, LaDonna S; Wallace, Michelle M; Adams, Courtney R; Kaufman, Michelle L; Snyder, Courtney L

    2015-09-01

    Selecting resources to support didactic courses is a critical decision, and the advantages and disadvantages must be carefully considered. During clinical rotations, students not only need to possess strong background knowledge but also are expected to be proficient with the same evidence-based POC resources used by clinicians. Students place high value on “real world” learning and therefore may place more value on POC resources that they know practicing clinicians use as compared with medical textbooks. The condensed nature of PA education requires students to develop background knowledge and information literacy skills over a short period. One way to build that knowledge and those skills simultaneously is to use POC resources in lieu of traditional medical textbooks during didactic training. Electronic POC resources offer several advantages over traditional textbooks and should be considered as viable options in PA education.

  11. Resource conservation approached with an appropriate collection and upgrade-remanufacturing for used electronic products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zlamparet, Gabriel I; Tan, Quanyin; Stevels, A B; Li, Jinhui

    2018-03-01

    This comparative research represents an example for a better conservation of resources by reducing the amount of waste (kg) and providing it more value under the umbrella of remanufacturing. The three discussed cases will expose three issues already addressed separately in the literature. The generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) interacts with the environmental depletion. In this article, we gave the examples of addressed issues under the concept of remanufacturing. Online collection opportunity eliminating classical collection, a business to business (B2B) implementation for remanufactured servers and medical devices. The material reuse (recycling), component sustainability, reuse (part harvesting), product reuse (after repair/remanufacturing) indicates the recovery potential using remanufacturing tool for a better conservation of resources adding more value to the products. Our findings can provide an overview of new system organization for the general collection, market potential and the technological advantages using remanufacturing instead of recycling of WEEE or used electrical and electronic equipment. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Effects of the Use of Electronic Human Resource Management (EHRM Within Human Resource Management (HRM Functions at Universities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chux Gervase Iwu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This study set out to examine the effect of e-hrm systems in assisting human resource practitioners to execute their duties and responsibilities. In comparison to developed economies of the world, information technology adoption in sub-Saharan Africa has not been without certain glitches. Some of the factors that are responsible for these include poor need identification, sustainable funding, and insufficient skills. Besides these factors, there is also the issue of change management and users sticking to what they already know. Although, the above factors seem negative, there is strong evidence that information systems such as electronic human resource management present benefits to an organization. To achieve this, a dual research approach was utilized. Literature assisted immensely in both the development of the conceptual framework upon which the study hinged as well as in the development of the questionnaire items. The study also made use of an interview checklist to guide the participants. The findings reveal a mix of responses that indicate that while there are gains in adopting e-hrm systems, it is wiser to consider supporting resources as well as articulate the needs of the university better before any investment is made.

  13. Electronic human resource management: Enhancing or entrancing?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Poisat

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: This article provides an investigation into the current level of development of the body of knowledge related to electronic human resource management (e-HRM by means of a qualitative content analysis. Several aspects of e-HRM, namely definitions of e-HRM, the theoretical perspectives around e-HRM, the role of e-HRM, the various types of e-HRM and the requirements for successful e-HRM, are examined. Research purpose: The purpose of the article was to determine the status of e-HRM and examine the studies that report on the link between e-HRM and organisational productivity. Motivation for the study: e-HRM has the capacity to improve organisational efficiency and leverage the role of human resources (HR as a strategic business partner. Main findings: The notion that the implementation of e-HRM will lead to improved organisational productivity is commonly assumed; however, empirical evidence in this regard was found to be limited. Practical/managerial implications: From the results of this investigation it is evident that more research is required to gain a greater understanding of the influence of e-HRM on organisational productivity, as well as to develop measures for assessing this influence. Contribution: This article proposes additional areas to research and measure when investigating the effectiveness of e-HRM. It provides a different lens from which to view e-HRM assessment whilst keeping it within recognised HR measurement parameters (the HR value chain. In addition, it not only provides areas for measuring e-HRM’s influence but also provides important clues as to how the measurements may be approached.

  14. Identifying and evaluating electronic learning resources for use in adult-gerontology nurse practitioner education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Hilaire J; Belza, Basia; Baker, Margaret; Christianson, Phyllis; Doorenbos, Ardith; Nguyen, Huong

    2014-01-01

    Enhancing existing curricula to meet newly published adult-gerontology advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) competencies in an efficient manner presents a challenge to nurse educators. Incorporating shared, published electronic learning resources (ELRs) in existing or new courses may be appropriate in order to assist students in achieving competencies. The purposes of this project were to (a) identify relevant available ELR for use in enhancing geriatric APRN education and (b) to evaluate the educational utility of identified ELRs based on established criteria. A multilevel search strategy was used. Two independent team members reviewed identified ELR against established criteria to ensure utility. Only resources meeting all criteria were retained. Resources were found for each of the competency areas and included formats such as podcasts, Web casts, case studies, and teaching videos. In many cases, resources were identified using supplemental strategies and not through traditional search or search of existing geriatric repositories. Resources identified have been useful to advanced practice educators in improving lecture and seminar content in a particular topic area and providing students and preceptors with additional self-learning resources. Addressing sustainability within geriatric APRN education is critical for sharing of best practices among educators and for sustainability of teaching and related resources. © 2014.

  15. Systematic review of electronic surveillance of infectious diseases with emphasis on antimicrobial resistance surveillance in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattanaumpawan, Pinyo; Boonyasiri, Adhiratha; Vong, Sirenda; Thamlikitkul, Visanu

    2018-02-01

    Electronic surveillance of infectious diseases involves rapidly collecting, collating, and analyzing vast amounts of data from interrelated multiple databases. Although many developed countries have invested in electronic surveillance for infectious diseases, the system still presents a challenge for resource-limited health care settings. We conducted a systematic review by performing a comprehensive literature search on MEDLINE (January 2000-December 2015) to identify studies relevant to electronic surveillance of infectious diseases. Study characteristics and results were extracted and systematically reviewed by 3 infectious disease physicians. A total of 110 studies were included. Most surveillance systems were developed and implemented in high-income countries; less than one-quarter were conducted in low-or middle-income countries. Information technologies can be used to facilitate the process of obtaining laboratory, clinical, and pharmacologic data for the surveillance of infectious diseases, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR) infections. These novel systems require greater resources; however, we found that using electronic surveillance systems could result in shorter times to detect targeted infectious diseases and improvement of data collection. This study highlights a lack of resources in areas where an effective, rapid surveillance system is most needed. The availability of information technology for the electronic surveillance of infectious diseases, including AMR infections, will facilitate the prevention and containment of such emerging infectious diseases. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. From Millennium ERM to Proquest 360 Resource Manager: Implementing a new Electronic Resources Management System ERMS in an International Graduate Research University in Saudi Arabia

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-01-01

    An overview of the Recommendation Study and the subsequent Implementation of a new Electronic Resources Management system ERMS in an international graduate research university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It covers the timeline, deliverables

  17. Open-Source Electronic Health Record Systems for Low-Resource Settings: Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syzdykova, Assel; Malta, André; Zolfo, Maria; Diro, Ermias; Oliveira, José Luis

    2017-11-13

    Despite the great impact of information and communication technologies on clinical practice and on the quality of health services, this trend has been almost exclusive to developed countries, whereas countries with poor resources suffer from many economic and social issues that have hindered the real benefits of electronic health (eHealth) tools. As a component of eHealth systems, electronic health records (EHRs) play a fundamental role in patient management and effective medical care services. Thus, the adoption of EHRs in regions with a lack of infrastructure, untrained staff, and ill-equipped health care providers is an important task. However, the main barrier to adopting EHR software in low- and middle-income countries is the cost of its purchase and maintenance, which highlights the open-source approach as a good solution for these underserved areas. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of open-source EHR systems based on the requirements and limitations of low-resource settings. First, we reviewed existing literature on the comparison of available open-source solutions. In close collaboration with the University of Gondar Hospital, Ethiopia, we identified common limitations in poor resource environments and also the main requirements that EHRs should support. Then, we extensively evaluated the current open-source EHR solutions, discussing their strengths and weaknesses, and their appropriateness to fulfill a predefined set of features relevant for low-resource settings. The evaluation methodology allowed assessment of several key aspects of available solutions that are as follows: (1) integrated applications, (2) configurable reports, (3) custom reports, (4) custom forms, (5) interoperability, (6) coding systems, (7) authentication methods, (8) patient portal, (9) access control model, (10) cryptographic features, (11) flexible data model, (12) offline support, (13) native client, (14) Web client,(15) other clients, (16) code

  18. Auditory laterality in a nocturnal, fossorial marsupial (Lasiorhinus latifrons) in response to bilateral stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Descovich, K A; Reints Bok, T E; Lisle, A T; Phillips, C J C

    2013-01-01

    Behavioural lateralisation is evident across most animal taxa, although few marsupial and no fossorial species have been studied. Twelve wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) were bilaterally presented with eight sounds from different contexts (threat, neutral, food) to test for auditory laterality. Head turns were recorded prior to and immediately following sound presentation. Behaviour was recorded for 150 seconds after presentation. Although sound differentiation was evident by the amount of exploration, vigilance, and grooming performed after different sound types, this did not result in different patterns of head turn direction. Similarly, left-right proportions of head turns, walking events, and food approaches in the post-sound period were comparable across sound types. A comparison of head turns performed before and after sound showed a significant change in turn direction (χ(2) (1)=10.65, p=.001) from a left preference during the pre-sound period (mean 58% left head turns, CI 49-66%) to a right preference in the post-sound (mean 43% left head turns, CI 40-45%). This provides evidence of a right auditory bias in response to the presentation of the sound. This study therefore demonstrates that laterality is evident in southern hairy-nosed wombats in response to a sound stimulus, although side biases were not altered by sounds of varying context.

  19. Evaluation of three electronic report processing systems for preparing hydrologic reports of the U.S Geological Survey, Water Resources Division

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiltner, G.J.

    1990-01-01

    In 1987, the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey undertook three pilot projects to evaluate electronic report processing systems as a means to improve the quality and timeliness of reports pertaining to water resources investigations. The three projects selected for study included the use of the following configuration of software and hardware: Ventura Publisher software on an IBM model AT personal computer, PageMaker software on a Macintosh computer, and FrameMaker software on a Sun Microsystems workstation. The following assessment criteria were to be addressed in the pilot studies: The combined use of text, tables, and graphics; analysis of time; ease of learning; compatibility with the existing minicomputer system; and technical limitations. It was considered essential that the camera-ready copy produced be in a format suitable for publication. Visual improvement alone was not a consideration. This report consolidates and summarizes the findings of the electronic report processing pilot projects. Text and table files originating on the existing minicomputer system were successfully transformed to the electronic report processing systems in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format. Graphics prepared using a proprietary graphics software package were transferred to all the electronic report processing software through the use of Computer Graphic Metafiles. Graphics from other sources were entered into the systems by scanning paper images. Comparative analysis of time needed to process text and tables by the electronic report processing systems and by conventional methods indicated that, although more time is invested in creating the original page composition for an electronically processed report , substantial time is saved in producing subsequent reports because the format can be stored and re-used by electronic means as a template. Because of the more compact page layouts, costs of printing the reports were 15% to 25

  20. Use and User Perception of Electronic Information Resources: A Case Study of Siva Institute of Frontier Technology, India

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    Velmurugan Chandran

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study aims to explore the use and user perception of electronic resources in Siva Institute of Frontier Technology, India. A total number of 123 users were taken into account for the study through a questionnaire-based survey method. A well-structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to the selected 200 students and staff members. 123 copies of the questionnaires were returned dully filled in and the overall response rate was 61.50 percent. The questionnaire contained both open- and close-ended questions. The collected data were classified, analyzed, and tabulated by using simple statistical methods. This study covers the impact of electronic resources on students and faculty in their academic pursuit.

  1. A preliminary categorization of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment as secondary metal resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oguchi, Masahiro; Murakami, Shinsuke; Sakanakura, Hirofumi; Kida, Akiko; Kameya, Takashi

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) as secondary metal resources. → The content and the total amount of metals in specific equipment are both important. → We categorized 21 EEE types from contents and total amounts of various metals. → Important equipment types as secondary resources were listed for each metal kind. → Collectability and possible collection systems of various EEE types were discussed. - Abstract: End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has recently received attention as a secondary source of metals. This study examined characteristics of end-of-life EEE as secondary metal resources to consider efficient collection and metal recovery systems according to the specific metals and types of EEE. We constructed an analogy between natural resource development and metal recovery from end-of-life EEE and found that metal content and total annual amount of metal contained in each type of end-of-life EEE should be considered in secondary resource development, as well as the collectability of the end-of-life products. We then categorized 21 EEE types into five groups and discussed their potential as secondary metal resources. Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and CRT TVs were evaluated as the most important sources of common metals, and personal computers, mobile phones, and video games were evaluated as the most important sources of precious metals. Several types of small digital equipment were also identified as important sources of precious metals; however, mid-size information and communication technology (ICT) equipment (e.g., printers and fax machines) and audio/video equipment were shown to be more important as a source of a variety of less common metals. The physical collectability of each type of EEE was roughly characterized by unit size and number of end-of-life products generated annually. Current collection systems in Japan were examined and potentially appropriate collection

  2. Principles of formation of the content of an educational electronic resource on the basis of general and didactic patterns of learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ольга Юрьевна Заславская

    2018-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers the influence of the development of technical means of teaching on the effectiveness of educational and methodical resources. Modern opportunities of information and communication technologies allow creating electronic educational resources that represent educational information that automates the learning process, provide information assistance, if necessary, collect and process statistical information on the degree of development of the content of the school material by schoolchildren, set an individual trajectory of learning, and so on. The main principle of data organization is the division of the training course into separate sections on the thematic elements and components of the learning process. General regularities include laws that encompass the entire didactic system, and in specific (particular cases, those whose actions extend to a separate component (aspect of the system. From the standpoint of the existence of three types of electronic training modules in the aggregate content of the electronic learning resource - information, control and module of practical classes - the principles of the formation of the electronic learning resource, in our opinion, should regulate all these components. Each of the certain principles is considered in the groups: scientific orientation, methodological orientation, systemic nature, accounting of interdisciplinary connections, fundamentalization, systematic and dosage sequence, rational use of study time, accessibility, minimization, operationalization of goals, unified identification diagnosis.

  3. Letting the ‘cat’ out of the bag: pouch young development of the extinct Tasmanian tiger revealed by X-ray computed tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spoutil, Frantisek; Prochazka, Jan; Black, Jay R.; Medlock, Kathryn; Paddle, Robert N.; Knitlova, Marketa; Hipsley, Christy A.

    2018-01-01

    The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was an iconic Australian marsupial predator that was hunted to extinction in the early 1900s. Despite sharing striking similarities with canids, they failed to evolve many of the specialized anatomical features that characterize carnivorous placental mammals. These evolutionary limitations are thought to arise from functional constraints associated with the marsupial mode of reproduction, in which otherwise highly altricial young use their well-developed forelimbs to climb to the pouch and mouth to suckle. Here we present the first three-dimensional digital developmental series of the thylacine throughout its pouch life using X-ray computed tomography on all known ethanol-preserved specimens. Based on detailed skeletal measurements, we refine the species growth curve to improve age estimates for the individuals. Comparison of allometric growth trends in the appendicular skeleton (fore- and hindlimbs) with that of other placental and marsupial mammals revealed that despite their unique adult morphologies, thylacines retained a generalized early marsupial ontogeny. Our approach also revealed mislabelled specimens that possessed large epipubic bones (vestigial in thylacine) and differing vertebral numbers. All of our generated CT models are publicly available, preserving their developmental morphology and providing a novel digital resource for future studies of this unique marsupial. PMID:29515893

  4. From Millennium ERM to Proquest 360 Resource Manager: Implementing a new Electronic Resources Management System ERMS in an International Graduate Research University in Saudi Arabia

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-05-17

    An overview of the Recommendation Study and the subsequent Implementation of a new Electronic Resources Management system ERMS in an international graduate research university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It covers the timeline, deliverables and challenges as well as lessons learnt by the Project Team.

  5. The Synthesis of the Hierarchical Structure of Information Resources for Management of Electronic Commerce Entities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krutova Anzhelika S.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the article is to develop the theoretical bases for the classification and coding of economic information and the scientific justification of the content of information resources of an electronic commerce enterprise. The essence of information resources for management of electronic business entities is investigated. It is proved that the organization of accounting in e-commerce systems is advisable to be built on the basis of two circuits: accounting for financial flows and accounting associated with transformation of business factors in products and services as a result of production activities. There presented a sequence of accounting organization that allows to combine the both circuits in a single information system, which provides a possibility for the integrated replenishment and distributed simultaneous use of the e-commerce system by all groups of users. It is proved that the guarantee of efficient activity of the information management system of electronic commerce entities is a proper systematization of the aggregate of information resources on economic facts and operations of an enterprise in accordance with the management tasks by building the hierarchy of accounting nomenclatures. It is suggested to understand nomenclature as an objective, primary information aggregate concerning a certain fact of the economic activity of an enterprise, which is characterized by minimum requisites, is entered into the database of the information system and is to be reflected in the accounting system. It is proposed to build a database of e-commerce systems as a part of directories (constants, personnel, goods / products, suppliers, buyers and the hierarchy of accounting nomenclatures. The package of documents regulating the organization of accounting at an enterprise should include: the provision on the accounting services, the order on the accounting policy, the job descriptions, the schedules of information exchange, the report card and

  6. Development of thermoregulation and torpor in a marsupial: energetic and evolutionary implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geiser, Fritz; Westman, Wendy; McAllan, Bronwyn M; Brigham, R Mark

    2006-02-01

    Altricial mammals and birds become endothermic at about half the size of adults and presumably would benefit energetically from entering torpor at that time. Because little is known about torpor during development in endotherms, we investigated whether after the establishment of endothermic thermoregulation (i.e. the ability to maintain a high body temperature during cold exposure), Sminthopsis macroura, a small (approximately 25 g) insectivorous marsupial, is capable of entering torpor and whether torpor patterns change with growth. Endothermic thermoregulation was established when the nest young reached a body mass of approximately 10 g, and they were capable of entering torpor early during development at approximately 10-12 g, lending some support to the view that torpor is a phylogenetically old mammalian trait. Torpor bout length shortened significantly and the minimum metabolic rate during torpor increased as juveniles approached adult size, and consequently total daily energy expenditure increased steeply with age. Relationships between total daily energy expenditure and body mass during development of S. macroura (slope approximately 1.3) differed substantially from the relationship between basal metabolism and body mass in adult endotherms (slope approximately 0.75) suggesting that the energy expenditure-size relationship during the development differs substantially from that in adults under thermo-neutral conditions. Our study shows that while torpor can substantially reduce energy expenditure during development of endotherms and hence is likely important for survival during energy bottlenecks, it also may enhance somatic growth when food is limited. We therefore hypothesize that torpor during the development in endotherms is far more widespread than is currently appreciated.

  7. Comparative cytogenetics of some marsupial species (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae from the Amazon basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Eduardo Faresin e Silva

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the karyotype of 18 didelphid species captured at 13 localities in the Brazilian Amazon, after conventional staining, C-banding, Ag-NOR and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH using the 18S rDNA probe. Variations were found in the X chromosome, heterochromatin distribution and the 18S rDNA sequence. The main variation observed was in the position of the centromere in the X chromosome of Caluromys philander Linnaeus, 1758 and Marmosa murina Linnaeus, 1758. For both species, the X chromosome showed a geographical segregation in the pattern of variation between eastern and western Brazil, with a possible contact area in the central Amazon. C-banding on the X chromosome revealed two patterns for the species of Marmosops Matschie, 1916, apparently without geographic or specific relationships. The nucleolus organizer region (NOR of all species was confirmed with the 18S rDNA probe, except on the Y chromosome of Monodelphis touan Shaw, 1800. The distribution of this marker varied only in the genus Marmosa Gray, 1821 [M. murina Thomas, 1905 and M. demerarae Thomas, 1905]. Considering that simple NORs are seen as a plesiomorphic character, we conclude that the species Marmosa spp. and Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758 evolved independently to the multiple condition. By increasing the sample, using chromosomal banding, and FISH, we verified that marsupials present intra- and interspecific chromosomal variations, which suggests the occurrence of frequent chromosomal rearrangements in the evolution of this group. This observation contrasts with the chromosomal conservatism expected for didelphids.

  8. Controlling user access to electronic resources without password

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Fred Hewitt

    2015-06-16

    Described herein are devices and techniques for remotely controlling user access to a restricted computer resource. The process includes pre-determining an association of the restricted computer resource and computer-resource-proximal environmental information. Indicia of user-proximal environmental information are received from a user requesting access to the restricted computer resource. Received indicia of user-proximal environmental information are compared to associated computer-resource-proximal environmental information. User access to the restricted computer resource is selectively granted responsive to a favorable comparison in which the user-proximal environmental information is sufficiently similar to the computer-resource proximal environmental information. In at least some embodiments, the process further includes comparing user-supplied biometric measure and comparing it with a predetermined association of at least one biometric measure of an authorized user. Access to the restricted computer resource is granted in response to a favorable comparison.

  9. Electronic theses and dissertations: a review of this valuable resource for nurse scholars worldwide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodfellow, L M

    2009-06-01

    A worldwide repository of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) could provide worldwide access to the most up-to-date research generated by masters and doctoral students. Until that international repository is established, it is possible to access some of these valuable knowledge resources. ETDs provide a technologically advanced medium with endless multimedia capabilities that far exceed the print and bound copies of theses and dissertations housed traditionally in individual university libraries. CURRENT USE: A growing trend exists for universities worldwide to require graduate students to submit theses or dissertations as electronic documents. However, nurse scholars underutilize ETDs, as evidenced by perusing bibliographic citation lists in many of the research journals. ETDs can be searched for and retrieved through several digital resources such as the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (http://www.ndltd.org), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (http://www.umi.com), the Australasian Digital Theses Program (http://adt.caul.edu.au/) and through individual university web sites and online catalogues. An international repository of ETDs benefits the community of nurse scholars in many ways. The ability to access recent graduate students' research electronically from anywhere in the world is advantageous. For scholars residing in developing countries, access to these ETDs may prove to be even more valuable. In some cases, ETDs are not available for worldwide access and can only be accessed through the university library from which the student graduated. Public access to university library ETD collections is not always permitted. Nurse scholars from both developing and developed countries could benefit from ETDs.

  10. Diffraction-Enhanced Imaging for studying pattern recognition in cranial ontogeny of bats and marsupials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rocha, H.S.; Lopes, R.T.; Pessoa, L.M.; Hoennicke, M.G.; Tirao, G.; Cusatis, C.; Mazzaro, I.; Giles, C.

    2005-01-01

    The key to understanding evolution lies in the elucidation of mechanisms responsible for the observed underlying patterns and in the observation of sequences that emerge from those evolutionary landmarks. The comparative development can be used to access the derivation of form and the homology versus the convergence of evolution features. Phylogenetic and biological homologies are necessary to discern the evolutionary origins of these features. This work examined the patterns of cranial formation in pre-born bat specimens as well as post-born opossum by means of microradiography and Diffraction-Enhanced Radiography (DER) techniques. A direct conversion CCD camera was used to provide micrometer spatial resolution in order to acquire highly detailed density images. This technique allows the observation of structures, in early stages of development, which were impossible to be observed with traditional techniques, such as clearing and staining. Some cranial features have been described for adults in the literature, but the detailed description of the appearance sequence of those features in these species is still unknown and obscure. Microradiography and diffraction-enhanced imaging can improve quality of morphological detail analysis and permit the identification of anatomical landmarks that are useful in comparative studies and are still unknown in both species. In this study, we access evolution features in cranial morphology of bats and marsupials using both X-ray techniques

  11. Diffraction-Enhanced Imaging for studying pattern recognition in cranial ontogeny of bats and marsupials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rocha, H.S. [Laboratorio de Instrumentacao Nuclear (LIN), COPPE, UFRJ (Brazil); Lopes, R.T. [Laboratorio de Instrumentacao Nuclear (LIN), COPPE, UFRJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: ricardo@lin.ufrj.br; Pessoa, L.M. [Laboratorio de Mastozoologia, Departamento Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, UFRJ (Brazil); Hoennicke, M.G. [Laboratorio de Optica de Raios X e Instrumentacao (LORXI) , Departamento de Fisica, UFPR (Brazil); Tirao, G. [Laboratorio de Optica de Raios X e Instrumentacao (LORXI) , Departamento de Fisica, UFPR (Brazil); Faculdad de Mat. Astronomia y Fisica (FAMAF), UNC. Cordoba (Argentina); Cusatis, C. [Laboratorio de Optica de Raios X e Instrumentacao (LORXI) , Departamento de Fisica, UFPR (Brazil); Mazzaro, I. [Laboratorio de Optica de Raios X e Instrumentacao (LORXI) , Departamento de Fisica, UFPR (Brazil); Giles, C. [Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincrotron (LNLS)/Laboratorio de Cristalografia Aplicada e Raios X, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin, UNICAMP (Brazil)

    2005-08-11

    The key to understanding evolution lies in the elucidation of mechanisms responsible for the observed underlying patterns and in the observation of sequences that emerge from those evolutionary landmarks. The comparative development can be used to access the derivation of form and the homology versus the convergence of evolution features. Phylogenetic and biological homologies are necessary to discern the evolutionary origins of these features. This work examined the patterns of cranial formation in pre-born bat specimens as well as post-born opossum by means of microradiography and Diffraction-Enhanced Radiography (DER) techniques. A direct conversion CCD camera was used to provide micrometer spatial resolution in order to acquire highly detailed density images. This technique allows the observation of structures, in early stages of development, which were impossible to be observed with traditional techniques, such as clearing and staining. Some cranial features have been described for adults in the literature, but the detailed description of the appearance sequence of those features in these species is still unknown and obscure. Microradiography and diffraction-enhanced imaging can improve quality of morphological detail analysis and permit the identification of anatomical landmarks that are useful in comparative studies and are still unknown in both species. In this study, we access evolution features in cranial morphology of bats and marsupials using both X-ray techniques.

  12. Library resources on the Internet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchanan, Nancy L.

    1995-07-01

    Library resources are prevalent on the Internet. Library catalogs, electronic books, electronic periodicals, periodical indexes, reference sources, and U.S. Government documents are available by telnet, Gopher, World Wide Web, and FTP. Comparatively few copyrighted library resources are available freely on the Internet. Internet implementations of library resources can add useful features, such as full-text searching. There are discussion lists, Gophers, and World Wide Web pages to help users keep up with new resources and changes to existing ones. The future will bring more library resources, more types of library resources, and more integrated implementations of such resources to the Internet.

  13. Queratoquistes maxilares: marsupialización Keratocysts of the jaw: marsupialization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Martínez Pérez

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available El queratoquiste odontogénico es una tumoración quística cuya cápsula está formada por un epitelio escamoso derivado de la lámina dental o el epitelio odontogénico primordial. Representa un 10% de todas las lesiones quísticas de los maxilares. Radiológicamente, es raro que presentes reabsorciones radiculares. El diagnóstico está basado en las características histológicas. El diagnóstico diferencial más importante es el quiste folicular que se caracteriza por un revestimiento escamoso de espesor variable. El tratamiento de los queratoquistes odontogénicos es objeto de constante discusión ya que la tasa de recidiva publicada es elevada (en torno al 30%. El tratamiento estándar es la enucleación, pero dado que la cápsula es típicamente fina y friable, se suele fragmentar durante la extirpación. La resección incompleta de la cápsula así como la presencia de microquistes en el tejido conectivo circundante predispone a la recidiva o persistencia de la tumoración. La alternativa es el tratamiento por medio de descompresión y marsupialización.The odontogenic keratocyst is a tumor-like cystic with a capsule that is formed of squamous epithelium originating from dental lamina or from primordial odontogenic epithelium. Radiologically, radicular resorption is rare. The most important differential diagnosis is the follicular cyst that has a characteristic squamous coating of a variable thickness. Treatment for odontogenic keratocysts is the object of constant discussion as the rate of recurrence published is high (around 30%. The standard treatment is enucleation, but given that the capsule is very fine and friable, it tends to break into fragments during extraction. Incomplete resection of the capsule, as well as the presence of microcysts in the surrounding connective tissue, makes recurrence or tumor persistence more likely. The alternative is treatment by means of decompression and marsupialization.

  14. ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR ONLINE SUPPORT OF MODERN CHEMISTRY CLASSES IN SPECIALIZED SCHOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria D. Tukalo

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This article contains material of some modern electronic educational resources that can be used via the Internet to support the modern chemistry classes in specialized school. It was drawn attention to the educational chemical experiments as means of knowledge; simulated key motivational characteristics to enhance students interest for learning subjects, their cognitive and practical activity in the formation of self-reliance and self-creative; commented forecasts for creating of conditions to enhance the creative potential of students in a modern learning environment.

  15. Selection and Evaluation of Electronic Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doğan Atılgan

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Publication boom and issues related to controlling and accession of printed sources have created some problems after World War II. Consequently, publishing industry has encountered the problem of finding possible solution for emerged situation. Industry of electronic publishing has started to improve with the rapid increase of the price of printed sources as well as the problem of publication boom. The first effects of electronic publishing were appeared on the academic and scholarly publications then electronic publishing became a crucial part of all types of publications. As a result of these developments, collection developments and service policies of information centers were also significantly changed. In this article, after a general introduction about selection and evaluation processes of electronic publications, the subscribed databases by a state and a privately owned university in Turkey and their usage were examined.

  16. An Exploratory study on the use of LibAnswers to Resolve, Track and Monitor Electronic Resources Issues: The KAUST Library experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-01-01

    An Exploratory study on KAUST library use of LibAnswers in resolving electronic resources questions received in LibAnswers. It describes the findings of the questions received in LibAnswers. The author made suggestions based on the findings to improve the reference services in responding to e-resources questions.

  17. An Exploratory study on the use of LibAnswers to Resolve, Track and Monitor Electronic Resources Issues: The KAUST Library experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-05-03

    An Exploratory study on KAUST library use of LibAnswers in resolving electronic resources questions received in LibAnswers. It describes the findings of the questions received in LibAnswers. The author made suggestions based on the findings to improve the reference services in responding to e-resources questions.

  18. The level of the usage of the human resource information system and electronic recruitment in Croatian companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snježana Pivac

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Performing business according to contemporary requirements influences companies for continuous usage of modern managerial tools, such as a human resource information system (HRIS and electronic recruitment (ER. Human resources have been recognised as curtail resources and the main source of a competitive advantage in creation of successful business performance. In order to attract and select the top employees, companies use quality information software for attracting internal ones, and electronic recruitment for attracting the best possible external candidates. The main aim of this paper is to research the level of the usage of HRIS and ER within medium-size and large Croatian companies. Moreover, the additional aim of this paper is to evaluate the relationship among the usage of these modern managerial tools and the overall success of human resource management within these companies. For the purpose of this paper, primary and secondary research has been conducted in order to reveal the level of the usage of HRIS and ER as well as the overall success of human resource management in Croatian companies. The companies’ classification (HRIS and ER is done by using the non-hierarchical k-means cluster method as well as the nonparametric Kruskal Wallis test. Further, the companies are ranked by the multicriteria PROMETHEE method. Relevant nonparametric tests are used for testing the overall companies’ HRM. Finally, binary logistic regression is estimated, relating binary variable HRM and HRIS development. After detailed research, it can be concluded that large Croatian companies apply HRIS in majority (with a positive relation to HRM performance, but still require certain degrees of its development.

  19. The electronic encapsulation of knowledge in hydraulics, hydrology and water resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Michael B.

    The rapidly developing practice of encapsulating knowledge in electronic media is shown to lead necessarily to the restructuring of the knowledge itself. The consequences of this for hydraulics, hydrology and more general water-resources management are investigated in particular relation to current process-simulation, real-time control and advice-serving systems. The generic properties of the electronic knowledge encapsulator are described, and attention is drawn to the manner in which knowledge 'goes into hiding' through encapsulation. This property is traced in the simple situations of pure mathesis and in the more complex situations of taxinomia using one example each from hydraulics and hydrology. The consequences for systems architectures are explained, pointing to the need for multi-agent architectures for ecological modelling and for more general hydroinformatics systems also. The relevance of these developments is indicated by reference to ongoing projects in which they are currently being realised. In conclusion, some more general epistemological aspects are considered within the same context. As this contribution is so much concerned with the processes of signification and communication, it has been partly shaped by the theory of semiotics, as popularised by Eco ( A Theory of Semiotics, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1977).

  20. RESEARCH OF INFLUENCE OF QUALITY OF ELECTRONIC EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ON QUALITY OF TRAINING WITH USE OF DISTANCE TECHNOLOGIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. M. Kravtsov

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Communication improving of educational processes requires today new approaches to the management arrangements and forming of educational policy in the field of distance learning, which is based on the use of modern information and communication technologies. An important step in this process is the continuous monitoring of the development and implementation of information technology and, in particular, the distance learning systems in higher educational establishments. The main objective of the monitoring is the impact assessment on the development of distance learning following the state educational standards, curricula, methodical and technical equipment and other factors; factors revelation that influence the implementation and outcomes of distance learning; results comparison of educational institution functioning and distance education systems in order to determine the most efficient ways of its development. The paper presents the analysis results of the dependence of the quality of educational services on the electronic educational resources. Trends in educational services development was studied by comparing the quality influence of electronic educational resources on the quality of educational services of higher pedagogical educational institutions of Ukraine as of 2009-2010 and 2012-2013. Generally, the analysis of the survey results allows evaluating quality of the modern education services as satisfactory and it can be said that almost 70% of the success of their future development depends on the quality of the used electronic educational resources and distance learning systems in particular.

  1. Tracking the Flow of Resources in Electronic Waste - The Case of End-of-Life Computer Hard Disk Drives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habib, Komal; Parajuly, Keshav; Wenzel, Henrik

    2015-10-20

    Recovery of resources, in particular, metals, from waste flows is widely seen as a prioritized option to reduce their potential supply constraints in the future. The current waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) treatment system is more focused on bulk metals, where the recycling rate of specialty metals, such as rare earths, is negligible compared to their increasing use in modern products, such as electronics. This study investigates the challenges in recovering these resources in the existing WEEE treatment system. It is illustrated by following the material flows of resources in a conventional WEEE treatment plant in Denmark. Computer hard disk drives (HDDs) containing neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets were selected as the case product for this experiment. The resulting output fractions were tracked until their final treatment in order to estimate the recovery potential of rare earth elements (REEs) and other resources contained in HDDs. The results further show that out of the 244 kg of HDDs treated, 212 kg comprising mainly of aluminum and steel can be finally recovered from the metallurgic process. The results further demonstrate the complete loss of REEs in the existing shredding-based WEEE treatment processes. Dismantling and separate processing of NdFeB magnets from their end-use products can be a more preferred option over shredding. However, it remains a technological and logistic challenge for the existing system.

  2. Effects of gut passage on the germination of seeds ingested by didelphid marsupials in a neotropical savanna

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Guimarães Lessa

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available We analyzed the effects that passage through the guts of seven didelphid species had on the seed germination of 10 plant species. This study was conducted in an area of riparian woodland in a cerrado (savanna reserve in southeastern Brazil. We found seeds of 23 angiosperm species in 427 fecal samples obtained from seven didelphid species. The plant families most often represented by the seeds found in the fecal samples were Melastomataceae (5 species and Rubiaceae (4 species . Most gut-passed seeds showed no significant difference in germinability when compared with the hand-extracted seeds. Among the ingested seeds, only those of Clidemia urceolata DC. (Melastomataceae and Myrcia sp. (Myrtaceae showed an increase in germinability (final proportion of germinated seeds, indicating that didelphid gut passage does not always benefit seed germination. The average germination time of consumed seeds ranged from 12 days (Cipocereus minensis (Werderm. Ritter to 171 days (Cordiera sessilis (Vell. Kuntze. The small number of seeds destroyed after gut passage and the results obtained during the germination experiments underscore the importance of didelphid marsupials to the dynamics of plant reproduction, especially those of small-seeded cerrado species.

  3. Dietary partitioning of Australia's two marsupial hypercarnivores, the Tasmanian devil and the spotted-tailed quoll, across their shared distributional range.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgina E Andersen

    Full Text Available Australia's native marsupial fauna has just two primarily flesh-eating 'hypercarnivores', the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii and the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus which coexist only on the island of Tasmania. Devil populations are currently declining due to a fatal transmissible cancer. Our aim was to analyse the diet of both species across their range in Tasmania, as a basis for understanding how devil decline might affect the abundance and distribution of quolls through release from competition. We used faecal analysis to describe diets of one or both species at 13 sites across Tasmania. We compared diet composition and breadth between the two species, and tested for geographic patterns in diets related to rainfall and devil population decline. Dietary items were classified into 6 broad categories: large mammals (≥ 7.0kg, medium-sized mammals (0.5-6.9kg, small mammals (< 0.5kg, birds, reptiles and invertebrates. Diet overlap based on prey-size category was high. Quoll diets were broader than devils at all but one site. Devils consumed more large and medium-sized mammals and quolls more small mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. Medium-sized mammals (mainly Tasmanian pademelon Thylogale billardierii, followed by large mammals (mainly Bennett's wallaby Macropus rufogriseus and birds, were the most important prey groups for both species. Diet composition varied across sites, suggesting that both species are flexible and opportunistic foragers, but was not related to rainfall for devils. Quolls included more large mammals but fewer small mammals and invertebrates in their diet in the eastern drier parts of Tasmania where devils have declined. This suggests that a competitive release of quolls may have occurred and the substantial decline of devils has provided more food in the large-mammal category for quolls, perhaps as increased scavenging opportunities. The high diet overlap suggests that if resources become limited in areas

  4. Using mobile electronic devices to deliver educational resources in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazal, Jonathan Robert; Ludwig, Rebecca

    2015-01-01

    Developing countries have far fewer trained radiography professionals than developed countries, which exacerbates the limited access to imaging services. The lack of trained radiographers reflects, in part, limited availability of radiographer-specific educational resources. Historically, organizations that provided such resources in the developing world faced challenges related to the limited stock of current materials as well as expenses associated with shipping and delivery. Four mobile electronic devices (MEDs) were loaded with educational content (e-books, PDFs, and digital applications) spanning major radiography topics. The MEDs were distributed to 4 imaging departments in Ghana, India, Nepal, and Nigeria based on evidence of need for radiography-specific resources, as revealed by survey responses. A cost comparison of postal delivery vs digital delivery of educational content was performed. The effectiveness of delivering additional content via Wi-Fi transmission also was evaluated. Feedback was solicited on users' experience with the MEDs as a delivery tool for educational content. An initial average per e-book expense of $30.05, which included the cost of the device, was calculated for the MED delivery method compared with $15.56 for postal delivery of printed materials. The cost of the MED delivery method was reduced to an average of $10.05 for subsequent e-book deliveries. Additional content was successfully delivered via Wi-Fi transmission to all recipients during the 3-month follow-up period. Overall user feedback on the experience was positive, and ideas for enhancing the MED-based method were identified. Using MEDs to deliver radiography-specific educational content appears to be more cost effective than postal delivery of printed materials on a long-term basis. MEDs are more efficient for providing updates to educational materials. Customization of content to department needs, and using projector devices could enhance the usefulness of MEDs for

  5. Success criteria for electronic medical record implementations in low-resource settings: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fritz, Fleur; Tilahun, Binyam; Dugas, Martin

    2015-03-01

    Electronic medical record (EMR) systems have the potential of supporting clinical work by providing the right information at the right time to the right people and thus make efficient use of resources. This is especially important in low-resource settings where reliable data are also needed to support public health and local supporting organizations. In this systematic literature review, our objectives are to identify and collect literature about success criteria of EMR implementations in low-resource settings and to summarize them into recommendations. Our search strategy relied on PubMed queries and manual bibliography reviews. Studies were included if EMR implementations in low-resource settings were described. The extracted success criteria and measurements were summarized into 7 categories: ethical, financial, functionality, organizational, political, technical, and training. We collected 381 success criteria with 229 measurements from 47 articles out of 223 articles. Most papers were evaluations or lessons learned from African countries, published from 1999 to 2013. Almost half of the EMR systems served a specific disease area like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The majority of criteria that were reported dealt with the functionality, followed by organizational issues, and technical infrastructures. Sufficient training and skilled personnel were mentioned in roughly 10%. Political, ethical, and financial considerations did not play a predominant role. More evaluations based on reliable frameworks are needed. Highly reliable data handling methods, human resources and effective project management, as well as technical architecture and infrastructure are all key factors for successful EMR implementation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Quantifying short-term foraging movements in a marsupial pest to improve targeted lethal control and disease surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yockney, Ivor J; Latham, M Cecilia; Rouco, Carlos; Cross, Martin L; Nugent, Graham

    2015-01-01

    In New Zealand, the introduced marsupial brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is a pest species subject to control measures, primarily to limit its ability to transmit bovine tuberculosis (TB) to livestock and for conservation protection. To better define parameters for targeted possum control and TB surveillance, we here applied a novel approach to analyzing GPS data obtained from 44 possums fitted with radio-tracking collars, producing estimates of the animals' short-term nocturnal foraging patterns based on 1-, 3- or 5-nights' contiguous data. Studies were conducted within two semi-arid montane regions of New Zealand's South Island High Country: these regions support low-density possum populations (control) or monitoring devices (for TB surveillance), set for > 3 consecutive nights at 150 m interval spacings, would likely place >95% of the possums in this type of habitat at risk of encountering these devices, year-round. Modelling control efficacy against operational expenditure, based on these estimations, identified the relative cost-effectiveness of various strategies that could be applied to a typical aerial poisoning operation, to reduce the ongoing TB vectorial risk that possums pose in the High Country regions. These habitat-specific findings are likely to be more relevant than the conventional pest control and monitoring methodologies developed for possums in their more typical forested habitat.

  7. The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): a case study in the development of reproductive technology in a marsupial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Stephen D; Holt, William V

    2014-01-01

    The successful development and application of an assisted breeding program in any animal relies primarily on a thorough understanding of the fundamental reproductive biology (anatomy, physiology and behaviour) of the species in question. Surely, the ultimate goal and greatest hallmark of such a program is the efficacious establishment of a series of reliable techniques that facilitate the reproductive and genetic management of fragmented populations, both in captivity and in the wild. Such an achievement is all the more challenging when the reproductive biology of that species is essentially rudimentary and without adequate reproductive models to compare to. Using the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) as a case study, this chapter provides some personal insights into the evolution of a concept that began as a small undergraduate student project but that subsequently evolved into the first-ever successful artificial insemination of a marsupial. Apart from this historical perspective, we also provide a brief review of the current reproductive biology of the koala, discuss technical elements of current assisted breeding technology of this species, its potential application to the wombat, and the future role it might play in helping to conserve wild koala populations. There is little doubt that the unique reproductive biology and tractability of the koala has in this case been a benefit rather than a hindrance to the success of artificial breeding in this species.

  8. Ultraviolet radiation-induced histopathologic changes in the skin of the marsupial Monodelphis domestica. II. Quantitative studies of the photoreactivation of induced hyperplasia and sunburn cell formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ley, R.D.; Applegate, L.A.

    1985-01-01

    Induction of sunburn cells (SBCs) and hyperplasia of the epidermis of the marsupial Monodelphis domestica by ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has been studied. A dose of 500 J/m2 (approximately 1 minimal erythemal dose) from an FS-40 sunlamp induced measurable numbers of SBCs with a peak number at 32-48 h post-UVR exposure of skin to photoreactivating light suppressed the induction of SBCs by approximately 75%. Pre-UVR exposure to photoreactivating light had no effect on the induction of SBCs. Induction of hyperplasia also was suppressed to a similar extent by post-UVR photoreactivation treatment. These studies identify pyrimidine dimers in DNA as the major photoproduct involved in the induction of SBCs and hyperplasia in M. domestica by UVR

  9. Coping with chaos: unpredictable food supplies intensify torpor use in an arid-zone marsupial, the fat-tailed dunnart ( Sminthopsis crassicaudata)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munn, Adam J.; Kern, Pippa; McAllan, Bronwyn M.

    2010-06-01

    The severity, duration and amplitude of extreme weather events are forecast to intensify with current climate trends, over both long (e.g. seasonal) and short (e.g. daily) time-scales. As such, the predictability of food supplies for many small endotherms is likely to become increasingly important. Numerous small mammals and birds combat food shortages using torpor, a controlled reduction in metabolic rate and body temperature that helps lower their daily energy requirements. As such, torpor often has been cited as a key feature allowing some small endotherms to survive highly unpredictable climates, such as tropics or dry deserts, but mensurative demonstrations of this are lacking. We have shown here that when a small desert marsupial, the fat-tailed dunnart ( Sminthopsis crassicaudata), is offered unpredictable levels of daily food, they increase frequency of daily torpor and length of bouts compared with animals offered ad libitum food, but this was not found for animals offered a 70% food-restricted diet. Our data suggest that simple food restriction may not be sufficient for evaluating the efficacy of torpor as a strategy for managing unpredictable climates.

  10. Nematode parasites of marsupials and small rodents from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delir Corrêa Gomes

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Nematodes from opossums and rodents captured in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were studied. From the opossums Didelphis aurita Weid-Neuweid, 1826 and Philander opossum (Linnaeus, 1758 the following nematode species were recovered: Viannaia hamata Travassos, 1914, Aspidodera raillieti Travassos, 1913, Cruzia tentaculata (Rudolphi, 1819, Travassos, 1917, Turgida turgida (Rudolphi, 1819 Travassos, 1919, Gongylonemoides marsupialis (Vaz & Pereira, 1934 Freitas & Lent, 1937, Viannaia viannai Travassos, 1914, Spirura guianensis (Ortlepp, 1924 Chitwood, 1938 and from the rodents Akodon cursor (Winger, 1887, Nectomys squamipes (Brants, 1827, Oligoryzomys eliurus (Wagner, 1845 and Oryzomys intermedius (Leche, 1886: Hassalstrongylus epsilon (Travassos, 1937 Durette-Desset, 1971, Syphacia obvelata (Rudolphi, 1802 Seurat, 1916, S. venteli Travassos, 1937, Physaloptera bispiculata Vaz & Pereira, 1935, Litomosoides carinii (Travassos, 1919 Vaz, 1934, Viannaia viannai, Hassalstrongylus epsilon, H. zeta (Travassos, 1937 Durette-Desset, 1971, Stilestrongylus aculeata (Travassos, 1918 Durette-Desset, 1971 S. eta (Travassos, 1937 Durette-Desset, 1971. Highest worm burdens and prevalences were those related to Cruzia tentaculata in marsupials. Stilestrongylus aculeata was referred for the first time in Akodon cursor.

  11. Electronic Human Resources Management (e-HRM Adoption Studies: Past and Future Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Winarto Winarto

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Electronic human resource management (e-HRM systems become more widely used by profit and non-profit organization. However, the field currently lacks sound theoretical frameworks that can be useful in addressing a key issue concerning the implementation of e-HRM systems, in particular to obtain a better understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of e-HRM systems. The objective of this paper is to provide a foundation towards the development of a theoretical framework for the implementation of e-HRM systems and develop a conceptual model that would reflect the nature of e-HRM systems’ adoption through systematic literature review. Adopting Crossan and Apaydin’s procedure of systematic review, this paper investigated 21 empirical papers of electronics human resources management, then categorized them into 4 characteristics which influence the adoption; System and technology characteristics; Organizational characteristics; User/individual characteristics, and Environmental and contextual characteristics. Finally, the e-HRM adoption research framework is drawn and based on the framework; avenues for future research are discussed.   Bahasa Indonesia Abstrak: Manajemen sumber daya manusia elektronik (selanjutnya disebut dengan e-HRM semakin banyak digunakan oleh organisasi profit dan nonprofit. Namun, bidang dan topik ini belum memiliki kerangka teori yang mapan, yang dapat digunakan untuk menganalisis isu-isu terkait penerapan e-HRM, terutama mengenai faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi adopsi sistem e-HRM. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk memberikan landasan bagi pengembangan kerangka teoritis untuk implementasi sistem e-HRM dan mengembangkan model konseptual yang akan menggambarkan adopsi sistem e-HRM melalui tinjauan literatur sistematis. Mengadopsi prosedur dan metode Crossan dan Apaydin untuk melakukan telaah literatur secara sistematis, paper ini menyelidiki 21 publikasi empiris manajemen sumber daya manusia elektronik dari 2

  12. Geographic Variation in Daily Temporal Activity Patterns of a Neotropical Marsupial (Gracilinanus agilis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emerson M Vieira

    Full Text Available The temporal activity of animals is an outcome of both biotic and abiotic factors, which may vary along the geographic range of the species. Therefore, studies conducted with a species in different localities with distinct features could elucidate how animals deal with such factors. In this study, we used live traps equipped with timing devices to investigate the temporal activity patterns of the didelphid Gracilinanus agilis in two dry-woodland areas of the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado. These areas were located about 660 km apart, one in Central Brazil and the other in Southeastern Brazil. We compared such patterns considering both reproductive and non-reproductive periods, and how it varies as a function of temperature on a seasonal basis. In Central Brazil, we found a constant, and temperature-independent activity during the night in both reproductive and non-reproductive periods. On the other hand, in Southeastern Brazil, we detected a constant activity during the reproductive period, but in the non-reproductive period G. agilis presented a peak of activity between two and four hours after sunset. Moreover, in this latter we found a relation between temporal activity and temperature during the autumn and spring. These differences in temporal activity between areas, observed during the non-reproductive period, might be associated with the higher seasonal variability in temperature, and lower mean temperatures in the Southeastern site in comparison to the Central one. In Southeastern Brazil, the decrease in temperature during the non-reproductive season possibly forced G. agilis to be active only at certain hours of the night. However, likely due to the reproductive activities (intensive foraging and searching for mates this marsupial showed constant, temperature-independent activity during the night in the reproductive period at both sites.

  13. Improving Electronic Resources through Holistic Budgeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusik, James P.; Vargas, Mark A.

    2009-01-01

    To establish a more direct link between its collections and the educational goals of Saint Xavier University, the Byrne Memorial Library has adopted a "holistic" approach to collection development. This article examines how traditional budget practices influenced the library's selection of resources and describes how holistic collection…

  14. Clinician‐selected Electronic Information Resources do not Guarantee Accuracy in Answering Primary Care Physicians’ Information Needs. A review of: McKibbon, K. Ann, and Douglas B. Fridsma. “Effectiveness of Clinician‐selected Electronic Information Resources for Answering Primary Care Physicians’ Information Needs.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 13.6 (2006: 653‐9.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha Ingrid Preddie

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To determine if electronic information resources selected by primary care physicians improve their ability to answer simulated clinical questions.Design – An observational study utilizing hour‐long interviews and think‐aloud protocols.Setting – The offices and clinics of primary care physicians in Canada and the United States.Subjects – Twenty‐five primary care physicians of whom 4 were women, 17 were from Canada, 22 were family physicians,and 24 were board certified.Methods – Participants provided responses to 23 multiple‐choice questions. Each physician then chose two questions and looked for the answers utilizing information resources of their own choice. The search processes, chosen resources and search times were noted. These were analyzed along with data on the accuracy of the answers and certainties related to the answer to each clinical question prior to the search.Main results – Twenty‐three physicians sought answers to 46 simulated clinical questions. Utilizing only electronic information resources, physicians spent a mean of 13.0 (SD 5.5 minutes searching for answers to the questions, an average of 7.3(SD 4.0 minutes for the first question and 5.8 (SD 2.2 minutes to answer the second question. On average, 1.8 resources were utilized per question. Resources that summarized information, such as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate and Clinical Evidence, were favored 39.2% of the time, MEDLINE (Ovid and PubMed 35.7%, and Internet resources including Google 22.6%. Almost 50% of the search and retrieval strategies were keyword‐based, while MeSH, subheadings and limiting were used less frequently. On average, before searching physicians answered 10 of 23 (43.5% questions accurately. For questions that were searched using clinician‐selected electronic resources, 18 (39.1% of the 46 answers were accurate before searching, while 19 (42.1% were accurate after searching. The difference of

  15. Review of material recovery from used electric and electronic equipment-alternative options for resource conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friege, Henning

    2012-09-01

    For waste from electric and electronic equipment, the WEEE Directive stipulates the separate collection of electric and electronic waste. As to new electric and electronic devices, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive bans the use of certain chemicals dangerous for man and environment. From the implementation of the WEEE directive, many unsolved problems have been documented: poor collection success, emission of dangerous substances during collection and recycling, irretrievable loss of valuable metals among others. As to RoHS, data from the literature show a satisfying success. The problems identified in the process can be reduced to some basic dilemmas at the borders between waste management, product policy and chemical safety. The objectives of the WEEE Directive and the specific targets for use and recycling of appliances are not consistent. There is no focus on scarce resources. Extended producer responsibility is not sufficient to guarantee sustainable waste management. Waste management reaches its limits due to problems of implementation but also due to physical laws. A holistic approach is necessary looking at all branch points and sinks in the stream of used products and waste from electric and electronic equipment. This may be done with respect to the general rules for sustainable management of material streams covering the three dimensions of sustainable policy. The relationships between the players in the field of electric and electronic devices have to be taken into account. Most of the problems identified in the implementation process will not be solved by the current amendment of the WEEE Directive.

  16. Charting a Course through CORAL: Texas A&M University Libraries' Experience Implementing an Open-Source Electronic Resources Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartnett, Eric; Beh, Eugenia; Resnick, Taryn; Ugaz, Ana; Tabacaru, Simona

    2013-01-01

    In 2010, after two previous unsuccessful attempts at electronic resources management system (ERMS) implementation, Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries set out once again to find an ERMS that would fit its needs. After surveying the field, TAMU Libraries selected the University of Notre Dame Hesburgh Libraries-developed, open-source ERMS,…

  17. The value of eutherian-marsupial comparisons for understanding the function of glucocorticoids in female mammal reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fanson, Kerry V; Parrott, Marissa L

    2015-11-01

    This article is part of a Special Issue "SBN 2014". Chronic stress is known to inhibit female reproductive function. Consequently, it is often assumed that glucocorticoid (GC) concentrations should be negatively correlated with reproductive success because of the role they play in stress physiology. In contrast, a growing body of evidence indicates that GCs play an active role in promoting reproductive function. It is precisely because GCs are so integral to the entire process that disruptions to adrenal activity have negative consequences for reproduction. The goal of this paper is to draw attention to the increasing evidence showing that increases in adrenal activity are important for healthy female reproduction. Furthermore, we outline several hypotheses about the functional role(s) that GCs may play in mediating reproduction and argue that comparative studies between eutherian and marsupial mammals, which exhibit some pronounced differences in reproductive physiology, may be particularly useful for testing different hypotheses about the functional role of GCs in reproduction. Much of our current thinking about GCs and reproduction comes from research involving stress-induced levels of GCs and has led to broad assumptions about the effects of GCs on reproduction. Unfortunately, this has left a gaping hole in our knowledge about basal GC levels and how they may influence reproductive function, thereby preventing a broader understanding of adrenal physiology and obscuring potential solutions for reproductive dysfunction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Designing a model of electronic human resource management’s implementation at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirali Seyednaghavi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available : In the first phase of this study a model for electronic human resource management in government agencies based on new public services was explored by using software MAXQDA, then in the second phase, relationship between the elements of the theory were tested using software Smart PLS2. So the aim of this study is to design a model of electronic human resource management’s implementation at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. In this regard, according to Strauss and Corbin’s structured plan, five hypotheses were tested. Quantitative data analysis indicates that the pressures of the policies and global perspectives cause to move toward e-HRM. Among the contextual conditions macro structural mechanisms, considerations of actors, governance considerations have a significant impact on the strategy of new public services and therefore lead to the consequences of its implementation in public organizations. The findings suggest that e-HRM does not have a positive and meaningful impact on new public services, and in our country, although the recent political developments have somehow removed the gap between public policy makers, administrators, and the public, but there is still a long way to go.

  19. The module of methodical support in system of electronic educational resources as the innovative element of the modern maintenance of formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ольга Николаевна Крылова

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The article introduces some results of research, which were devoted to evaluation of tearches' mobility to introduce innovations in the contents of education. The author considers innovative potential of modules of the methodical support for system of electronic educational resources.

  20. Impact of Electronic Resources and Usage in Academic Libraries in Ghana: Evidence from Koforidua Polytechnic & All Nations University College, Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akussah, Maxwell; Asante, Edward; Adu-Sarkodee, Rosemary

    2015-01-01

    The study investigates the relationship between impact of electronic resources and its usage in academic libraries in Ghana: evidence from Koforidua Polytechnic & All Nations University College, Ghana. The study was a quantitative approach using questionnaire to gather data and information. A valid response rate of 58.5% was assumed. SPSS…

  1. Utilization of Electronic Information Resources by Undergraduate Students of University of Ibadan: A Case Study of Social Sciences and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owolabi, Sola; Idowu, Oluwafemi A.; Okocha, Foluke; Ogundare, Atinuke Omotayo

    2016-01-01

    The study evaluated utilization of electronic information resources by undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a study population of 1872 undergraduates in the Faculties of Education and the Social Sciences in University of Ibadan, from which a…

  2. Shaping the Electronic Library--The UW-Madison Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Charles W., Ed.; Frazier, Ken; Pope, Nolan F.; Gorman, Peter C.; Dentinger, Sue; Boston, Jeanne; Phillips, Hugh; Daggett, Steven C.; Lundquist, Mitch; McClung, Mark; Riley, Curran; Allan, Craig; Waugh, David

    1998-01-01

    This special theme section describes the University of Wisconsin-Madison's experience building its Electronic Library. Highlights include integrating resources and services; the administrative framework; the public electronic library, including electronic publishing capability and access to World Wide Web-based and other electronic resources;…

  3. Controlling user access to electronic resources without password

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Fred Hewitt

    2017-08-22

    Described herein are devices and techniques for remotely controlling user access to a restricted computer resource. The process includes obtaining an image from a communication device of a user. An individual and a landmark are identified within the image. Determinations are made that the individual is the user and that the landmark is a predetermined landmark. Access to a restricted computing resource is granted based on the determining that the individual is the user and that the landmark is the predetermined landmark. Other embodiments are disclosed.

  4. The use of quality benchmarking in assessing web resources for the dermatology virtual branch library of the National electronic Library for Health (NeLH).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamel Boulos, M N; Roudsari, A V; Gordon, C; Muir Gray, J A

    2001-01-01

    In 1998, the U.K. National Health Service Information for Health Strategy proposed the implementation of a National electronic Library for Health to provide clinicians, healthcare managers and planners, patients and the public with easy, round the clock access to high quality, up-to-date electronic information on health and healthcare. The Virtual Branch Libraries are among the most important components of the National electronic Library for Health. They aim at creating online knowledge based communities, each concerned with some specific clinical and other health-related topics. This study is about the envisaged Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries of the National electronic Library for Health. It aims at selecting suitable dermatology Web resources for inclusion in the forthcoming Virtual Branch Libraries after establishing preliminary quality benchmarking rules for this task. Psoriasis, being a common dermatological condition, has been chosen as a starting point. Because quality is a principal concern of the National electronic Library for Health, the study includes a review of the major quality benchmarking systems available today for assessing health-related Web sites. The methodology of developing a quality benchmarking system has been also reviewed. Aided by metasearch Web tools, candidate resources were hand-selected in light of the reviewed benchmarking systems and specific criteria set by the authors. Over 90 professional and patient-oriented Web resources on psoriasis and dermatology in general are suggested for inclusion in the forthcoming Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries. The idea of an all-in knowledge-hallmarking instrument for the National electronic Library for Health is also proposed based on the reviewed quality benchmarking systems. Skilled, methodical, organized human reviewing, selection and filtering based on well-defined quality appraisal criteria seems likely to be the key ingredient in the envisaged National electronic Library for

  5. There is a Relationship between Resource Expenditures and Reference Transactions in Academic Libraries. A Review of: Dubnjakovic, A. (2012. Electronic resource expenditure and the decline in reference transaction statistics in academic libraries. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(2, 94-100. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2012.01.001

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annie M. Hughes

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To provide an analysis of the impact of expenditures on electronic resourcesand gate counts on the increase or decrease in reference transactions.Design – Analysis of results of existing survey data from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES 2006 Academic Library Survey(ALS.Setting – Academic libraries in the United States.Subjects – 3925 academic library respondents.Methods – The author chose to use survey data collected from the 2006 ALS conducted bythe NCES. The survey included data on various topics related to academic libraries, but in the case of this study, the author chose to analyze three of the 193 variables included. The three variables: electronic books expenditure, computer hardware and software, and expenditures on bibliographic utilities, were combined into one variable called electronic resource expenditure. Gate counts were also considered as a variable. Electronic resource expenditure was also split as a variable into three groups: low, medium, and high. Multiple regression analysis and general linear modeling, along with tests of reliability, were employed. Main Results – The author determined that low, medium, and high spenders with regard to electronic resources exhibited differences in gate counts, and gate counts have an effect on reference transactions in any given week. Gate counts tend to not have much of an effect on reference transactions for the higher spenders, and higher spenders tend to have a higher number of reference transactions overall. Low spenders have lower gate counts and also a lower amount of reference transactions.Conclusion – The findings from this study show that academic libraries spending more on electronic resources also tend to have an increase with regard to reference transactions. The author also concludes that library spaces are no longer the determining factor with regard to number of reference transactions. Spending more on electronic resources is

  6. Electronic resources access and usage among the postgraduates of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... and usage among the postgraduates of a Nigerian University of Technology. ... faced by postgraduates in using e-resources include takes too much time to find, ... Resources, Access, Use, Postgraduat, Students, University, Technology, Nigeria ... By Country · List All Titles · Free To Read Titles This Journal is Open Access.

  7. Electronic Safety Resource Tools -- Supporting Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Commercialization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barilo, Nick F.

    2014-09-29

    The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hydrogen Safety Program conducted a planning session in Los Angeles, CA on April 1, 2014 to consider what electronic safety tools would benefit the next phase of hydrogen and fuel cell commercialization. A diverse, 20-person team led by an experienced facilitator considered the question as it applied to the eight most relevant user groups. The results and subsequent evaluation activities revealed several possible resource tools that could greatly benefit users. The tool identified as having the greatest potential for impact is a hydrogen safety portal, which can be the central location for integrating and disseminating safety information (including most of the tools identified in this report). Such a tool can provide credible and reliable information from a trustworthy source. Other impactful tools identified include a codes and standards wizard to guide users through a series of questions relating to application and specific features of the requirements; a scenario-based virtual reality training for first responders; peer networking tools to bring users from focused groups together to discuss and collaborate on hydrogen safety issues; and a focused tool for training inspectors. Table ES.1 provides results of the planning session, including proposed new tools and changes to existing tools.

  8. EFFECTIVE ELECTRONIC TUTORIAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei A. Fedoseev

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes effective electronic tutorials creation and application based on the theory of pedagogy. Herewith the issues of necessary electronic tutorial functional, ways of the educational process organization with the use of information and communication technologies and the logistics of electronic educational resources are touched upon. 

  9. Renewable energy resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellabban, Omar S.; Abu-Rub, Haitham A.; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2014-01-01

    Electric energy security is essential, yet the high cost and limited sources of fossil fuels, in addition to the need to reduce greenhouse gasses emission, have made renewable resources attractive in world energy-based economies. The potential for renewable energy resources is enormous because...... they can, in principle, exponentially exceed the world's energy demand; therefore, these types of resources will have a significant share in the future global energy portfolio, much of which is now concentrating on advancing their pool of renewable energy resources. Accordingly, this paper presents how...... renewable energy resources are currently being used, scientific developments to improve their use, their future prospects, and their deployment. Additionally, the paper represents the impact of power electronics and smart grid technologies that can enable the proportionate share of renewable energy...

  10. Preference and Use of Electronic Information and Resources by Blind/Visually Impaired in NCR Libraries in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shailendra Kumar

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to determine the preference and use of electronic information and resources by blind/visually impaired users in the leading National Capital Region (NCR libraries of India. Survey methodology has been used as the basic research tool for data collection with the help of questionnaires. The 125 in total users surveyed in all the five libraries were selected randomly on the basis of willingness of the users with experience of working in digital environments to participate in the survey. The survey results were tabulated and analyzed with descriptive statistics methods using Excel software and 'Stata version 11'. The findings reveal that ICT have a positive impact in the lives of people with disabilities as it helps them to work independently and increases the level of confidence among them. The Internet is the most preferred medium of access to information among the majority of blind/visually impaired users. The 'Complexity of content available on the net' is found as the major challenge faced during Internet use by blind users of NCR libraries. 'Audio books on CDs/DVDs and DAISY books' are the most preferred electronic resources among the majority of blind/visually impaired users. This study will help the library professionals and organizations/institutions serving people with disabilities to develop effective library services for blind/visually impaired users in the digital environment on the basis of findings on information usage behavior in the study.

  11. Females Choose Mates Based on Genetic Relatedness in a Small Dasyurid Marsupial, the Agile Antechinus (Antechinus agilis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marissa L Parrott

    Full Text Available Females in a variety of taxa mate with more than one male during a single oestrus and exhibit mate preferences for genetically compatible males, but the influence of female mate choice on siring success is not clearly understood. Whether females choose to mate with more than one male or endure forced copulations is also often unknown. Here, we examined the effects of genetic relatedness on female mate choice and siring success in a small semelparous carnivorous marsupial, the agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis, during two consecutive breeding seasons. Experimental trials were conducted in captivity over periods of 72 hours using interconnected enclosures in which female antechinus could choose to access any of four separated males, but males were only able to access females that entered their quarters. Females had access to two genetically similar and two genetically dissimilar males simultaneously and all behavioural interactions were observed and scored from continuous video recordings. Genetic similarity between mates and paternity of young was determined by microsatellite analyses. Some females chose to enter and mate with more than one male during a single oestrus period. Although females investigated all males, they spent significantly more time visiting, and mated more times with, genetically dissimilar males. Males that were genetically dissimilar to the female sired 88% of subsequent offspring. Whilst males mated readily with most females, they rejected the advances of some receptive females, indicating a previously unexpected level of male mate choice. The results show that genetic relatedness between mates has a significant influence on mate choice, breeding and siring success in the agile antechinus.

  12. Library usage patterns in the electronic information environment. Electronic journals, Use studies, Libraries, Medical libraries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Franklin

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the methodology and results from Web-based surveys of more than 15,000 networked electronic services users in the United States between July 1998 and June 2003 at four academic health sciences libraries and two large main campus libraries serving a variety of disciplines. A statistically valid methodology for administering simultaneous Web-based and print-based surveys using the random moments sampling technique is discussed and implemented. Results from the Web-based surveys showed that at the four academic health sciences libraries, there were approximately four remote networked electronic services users for each in-house user. This ratio was even higher for faculty, staff, and research fellows at the academic health sciences libraries, where more than five remote users for each in-house user were recorded. At the two main libraries, there were approximately 1.3 remote users for each in-house user of electronic information. Sponsored research (grant funded research accounted for approximately 32% of the networked electronic services activity at the health sciences libraries and 16% at the main campus libraries. Sponsored researchers at the health sciences libraries appeared to use networked electronic services most intensively from on-campus, but not from in the library. The purpose of use for networked electronic resources by patrons within the library is different from the purpose of use of those resources by patrons using the resources remotely. The implications of these results on how librarians reach decisions about networked electronic resources and services are discussed.

  13. Electronic resources of the rare books and valuable editions department of the Central Scientific Library of the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University: open access for research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    І. К. Журавльова

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article describes tasks that electronic collections of rare books fulfill: broad access for readers to rare and valuable editions providing, preservation of ensuring of the original. On the example of the electronic collection of the Central Scientific Library of the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University – «eScriptorium: electronic archive of rare books and manuscripts for research and education» the possibility of the full-text resources of the valuable editions using is shown. The principles of creation, structure, chronological frameworks, directions of adding the documents to the archive are represented. The perspectives of the project development are outlined as well as examples of the digital libraries of the European countries and Ukraine are provided, the actual task of preserving the originals of the rare books of the country is raised, the innovative approaches to serving users with electronic resources are considered. The evidences of cooperation of the Central Scientific Library of the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University with the largest world digital libraries: World Digital Library and Europeana are provided.

  14. Electronic tracking of human resource skills and knowledge, just in time training, manageable due diligence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kolodziej, M.A. [Quick Test International Inc., (Canada). Canadian Technology Human Resource Board; Baker, O. [KeySpan Energy Canada, Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2001-06-01

    KeySpan Energy Canada is in the process of obtaining recognition of various occupational profiles including pipeline operators, inspectors, and field and plant operators from various certifying organizations. The process of allowing individuals to obtain certification is recognized by Canadian Technology Human Resources Board as a step towards national standards for technologists and technicians. Proven competency is a must for workers in todays oil industry in response to increasingly stringent government safety regulations, environmental concerns and high public scrutiny. Quick Test international Inc. has developed a management tool in collaboration with end users at KeySpan Energy Canada. It is an electronic, Internet based competency tool for tracking personal competencies and maintaining continued competency. Response to the tool has been favourable. 2 refs., 4 figs.

  15. The Biomedical Resource Ontology (BRO) to enable resource discovery in clinical and translational research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenenbaum, Jessica D; Whetzel, Patricia L; Anderson, Kent; Borromeo, Charles D; Dinov, Ivo D; Gabriel, Davera; Kirschner, Beth; Mirel, Barbara; Morris, Tim; Noy, Natasha; Nyulas, Csongor; Rubenson, David; Saxman, Paul R; Singh, Harpreet; Whelan, Nancy; Wright, Zach; Athey, Brian D; Becich, Michael J; Ginsburg, Geoffrey S; Musen, Mark A; Smith, Kevin A; Tarantal, Alice F; Rubin, Daniel L; Lyster, Peter

    2011-02-01

    The biomedical research community relies on a diverse set of resources, both within their own institutions and at other research centers. In addition, an increasing number of shared electronic resources have been developed. Without effective means to locate and query these resources, it is challenging, if not impossible, for investigators to be aware of the myriad resources available, or to effectively perform resource discovery when the need arises. In this paper, we describe the development and use of the Biomedical Resource Ontology (BRO) to enable semantic annotation and discovery of biomedical resources. We also describe the Resource Discovery System (RDS) which is a federated, inter-institutional pilot project that uses the BRO to facilitate resource discovery on the Internet. Through the RDS framework and its associated Biositemaps infrastructure, the BRO facilitates semantic search and discovery of biomedical resources, breaking down barriers and streamlining scientific research that will improve human health. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Electronic Recruitment at CERN

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    The Human Resources Department switches to electronic recruitment. From now on whenever you are involved in a recruitment action you will receive an e-mail giving you access to a Web folder. Inside you will find a shortlist of applications drawn up by the Human Resources Department. This will allow you to consult the folder, at the same time as everyone else involved in the recruitment process, for the vacancy you are interested in. This new electronic recruitment system, known as e-RT, will be introduced in a presentation given at 10 a.m. on 11 February in the Main Auditorium. Implemented by AIS (Administrative Information Services) and the Human Resources Department, e-RT will cover vacancies open in all of CERN's recruitment programmes. The electronic application system was initially made available to technical students in July 2003. By December it was extended to summer students, fellows, associates and Local Staff. Geraldine Ballet from the Recruitment Service prefers e-RT to mountains of paper! The Hu...

  17. Plastics disassembly versus bulk recycling: engineering design for end-of-life electronics resource recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rios, Pedro; Stuart, Julie Ann; Grant, Ed

    2003-12-01

    Annual plastic flows through the business and consumer electronics manufacturing supply chain include nearly 3 billion lb of high-value engineering plastics derived from petroleum. The recovery of resource value from this stream presents critical challenges in areas of materials identification and recycling process design that demand new green engineering technologies applied together with life cycle assessment and ecological supply chain analysis to create viable plastics-to-plastics supply cycles. The sustainable recovery of potentially high-value engineering plastics streams requires that recyclers either avoid mixing plastic parts or purify later by separating smaller plastic pieces created in volume reduction (shredding) steps. Identification and separation constitute significant barriers in the plastics-to-plastics recycling value proposition. In the present work, we develop a model that accepts randomly arriving electronic products to study scenarios by which a recycler might identify and separate high-value engineering plastics as well as metals. Using discrete eventsimulation,we compare current mixed plastics recovery with spectrochemical plastic resin identification and subsequent sorting. Our results show that limited disassembly with whole-part identification can produce substantial yields in separated streams of recovered engineering thermoplastics. We find that disassembly with identification does not constitute a bottleneck, but rather, with relatively few workers, can be configured to pull the process and thus decrease maximum staging space requirements.

  18. Five years follow-up of a keratocyst odontogenic tumor treated by marsupialization and enucleation: A case report and literature review

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Molon, Rafael Scaf; Verzola, Mario H.; Pires, Luana C.; Mascarenhas, Vinicius I.; da Silva, Rodrigo B.; Cirelli, Joni A.; Barbeiro, Roberto H.

    2015-01-01

    Odontogenic cysts are considered as nonneoplasic benign lesions. Among the cysts, keratocyst odontogenic tumor (KCOT) is an intra-osseous tumor characterized by parakeratinized stratified squamous epithelium and a potential for aggressive, infiltrative behavior, and for the possibility to develop carcinomas in the lesion wall. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe a clinical case of KCOT in a young patient and discuss the treatment alternatives to solve this case. A 15-year-old male was referred for treatment of a giant lesion in his left side of the mandible. After the biopsy, a diagnostic of KCOT was made, and the following procedures were planned for KCOT treatment. Marsupialization was performed for lesion decompression and consequent lesion size reduction. Afterward, enucleation for complete KCOT removal was performed followed by third mandibular molar extraction. After 5 years, no signs of recurrence were observed. The treatment proposed was efficient in removing the KCOT with minimal surgical morbidity and optimal healing process, and the first and second mandibular molars were preserved with pulp vitality. In conclusion, this treatment protocol was an effective and conservative approach for the management of the KCOT, enabling the reduction of the initial lesion, the preservation of anatomical structures and teeth, allowing quicker return to function. No signs of recurrence after 5 years were observed. PMID:25821360

  19. Five years follow-up of a keratocyst odontogenic tumor treated by marsupialization and enucleation: A case report and literature review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Scaf de Molon

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Odontogenic cysts are considered as nonneoplasic benign lesions. Among the cysts, keratocyst odontogenic tumor (KCOT is an intra-osseous tumor characterized by parakeratinized stratified squamous epithelium and a potential for aggressive, infiltrative behavior, and for the possibility to develop carcinomas in the lesion wall. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe a clinical case of KCOT in a young patient and discuss the treatment alternatives to solve this case. A 15-year-old male was referred for treatment of a giant lesion in his left side of the mandible. After the biopsy, a diagnostic of KCOT was made, and the following procedures were planned for KCOT treatment. Marsupialization was performed for lesion decompression and consequent lesion size reduction. Afterward, enucleation for complete KCOT removal was performed followed by third mandibular molar extraction. After 5 years, no signs of recurrence were observed. The treatment proposed was efficient in removing the KCOT with minimal surgical morbidity and optimal healing process, and the first and second mandibular molars were preserved with pulp vitality. In conclusion, this treatment protocol was an effective and conservative approach for the management of the KCOT, enabling the reduction of the initial lesion, the preservation of anatomical structures and teeth, allowing quicker return to function. No signs of recurrence after 5 years were observed.

  20. Merge of terminological resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lina; Braasch, Anna

    2012-01-01

    In our globalized world, the amount of cross-national communication increases rapidly, which also calls for easy access to multi-lingual high quality terminological resources. Sharing of terminology resources is currently becoming common practice, and efficient strategies for integration...... – or merging – of terminology resources are strongly needed. This paper discusses prerequisites for successful merging with the focus on identification of candidate duplicates of a subject domain found in the resources to be merged, and it describes automatic merging strategies to be applied to such duplicates...... in electronic terminology resources. Further, some perspectives of manual, supplementary assessment methods supporting the automatic procedures are sketched. Our considerations are primarily based on experience gained in the IATE and EuroTermBank projects, as merging was a much discussed issue in both projects....

  1. Serologic evidence of canine parvovirus in domestic dogs, wild carnivores, and marsupials in the Argentinean Chaco.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orozco, María Marcela; Miccio, Luciano; Enriquez, Gustavo Fabián; Iribarren, Fabián Eduardo; Gürtler, Ricardo Esteban

    2014-09-01

    The transmission of pathogens between domestic dogs and generalist wildlife species may be modified by environmental degradation, biodiversity losses, host densities, and increased contact rates in remnant forest patches. A serologic survey of canine parvovirus (CPV) in rural domestic dogs and wild mammals was conducted in two neighboring rural areas (disturbed and protected) from Pampa del Indio, northeastern Argentina, between 2008 and 2011. A total of 174 domestic dogs and 26 wild mammals-4 crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous), 3 crab-eating raccoons (Procyon cancrivorus), 17 white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris), and 2 gray four-eyed opossums (Philander opossum)-were examined for antibodies to CPV using a hemagglutination inhibition assay. Domestic dogs were numerous and their movements unrestricted. The main function of dogs differed significantly between areas, with more dogs used for herding or hunting around the protected area. The seroprevalence of antibodies to CPV in dogs from both areas was very high (93.9-94.6%) and increased steeply with age. Nearly all carnivores and marsupials showed high exposure to CPV. Although a higher exposure to CPV was expected in wild mammals from disturbed areas as a result of enhanced contact between dogs and wildlife, no significant differences were found between areas. To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to document exposure to CPV of free-ranging Pr. cancrivorus, D. albiventris, and Ph. opossum, and include a detailed demographic study of the domestic dog populations living in the area. This study highlights that dogs and wildlife have potential opportunities for contact and shows that the edges of the protected area may be as suitable as other fragmented areas for the transmission of CPV. Rural domestic dogs may pose serious threats to the health and conservation of wild carnivores in both disturbed and protected areas, especially in the Gran Chaco, where habitat fragmentation is severely

  2. Complete electronics self-teaching guide with projects

    CERN Document Server

    Boysen, Earl

    2012-01-01

    An all-in-one resource on everything electronics-related! For almost 30 years, this book has been a classic text for electronics enthusiasts. Now completely updated for today's technology, this latest version combines concepts, self-tests, and hands-on projects to offer you a completely repackaged and revised resource. This unique self-teaching guide features easy-to-understand explanations that are presented in a user-friendly format to help you learn the essentials you need to work with electronic circuits. All you need is a general understanding of electronics concepts such as Oh

  3. Oscillator clustering in a resource distribution chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Postnov, D.; Sosnovtseva, Olga; Mosekilde, Erik

    2005-01-01

    separate the inherent dynamics of the individual oscillator from the properties of the coupling network. Illustrated by examples from microbiological population dynamics, renal physiology, and electronic oscillator theory, we show how competition for primary resources in a resource distribution chain leads...

  4. Power Electronics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iov, Florin; Ciobotaru, Mihai; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2008-01-01

    is to change the electrical power production sources from the conventional, fossil (and short term) based energy sources to renewable energy resources. The other is to use high efficient power electronics in power generation, power transmission/distribution and end-user application. This paper discuss the most...... emerging renewable energy sources, wind energy, which by means of power electronics are changing from being a minor energy source to be acting as an important power source in the energy system. Power electronics is the enabling technology and the presentation will cover the development in wind turbine...... technology from kW to MW, discuss which power electronic solutions are most feasible and used today....

  5. Electronic conferencing for continuing medical education: a resource survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sternberg, R J

    1986-10-01

    The use of electronic technologies to link participants for education conferences is an option for providers of Continuing Medical Education. In order to profile the kinds of electronic networks currently offering audio- or videoteleconferences for physician audiences, a survey was done during late 1985. The information collected included range of services, fees, and geographic areas served. The results show a broad diversity of providers providing both interactive and didactic programming to both physicians and other health care professionals.

  6. Developmental and Post-Eruptive Defects in Molar Enamel of Free-Ranging Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) Exposed to High Environmental Levels of Fluoride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kierdorf, Uwe; Death, Clare; Hufschmid, Jasmin; Witzel, Carsten; Kierdorf, Horst

    2016-01-01

    Dental fluorosis has recently been diagnosed in wild marsupials inhabiting a high-fluoride area in Victoria, Australia. Information on the histopathology of fluorotic marsupial enamel has thus far not been available. This study analyzed the developmental and post-eruptive defects in fluorotic molar enamel of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) from the same high-fluoride area using light microscopy and backscattered electron imaging in the scanning electron microscope. The fluorotic enamel exhibited a brownish to blackish discolouration due to post-eruptive infiltration of stains from the oral cavity and was less resistant to wear than normally mineralized enamel of kangaroos from low-fluoride areas. Developmental defects of enamel included enamel hypoplasia and a pronounced hypomineralization of the outer (sub-surface) enamel underneath a thin rim of well-mineralized surface enamel. While the hypoplastic defects denote a disturbance of ameloblast function during the secretory stage of amelogenesis, the hypomineralization is attributed to an impairment of enamel maturation. In addition to hypoplastic defects, the fluorotic molars also exhibited numerous post-eruptive enamel defects due to the flaking-off of portions of the outer, hypomineralized enamel layer during mastication. The macroscopic and histopathological lesions in fluorotic enamel of M. giganteus match those previously described for placental mammals. It is therefore concluded that there exist no principal differences in the pathogenic mechanisms of dental fluorosis between marsupial and placental mammals. The regular occurrence of hypomineralized, opaque outer enamel in the teeth of M. giganteus and other macropodids must be considered in the differential diagnosis of dental fluorosis in these species. PMID:26895178

  7. Developmental and Post-Eruptive Defects in Molar Enamel of Free-Ranging Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus Exposed to High Environmental Levels of Fluoride.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uwe Kierdorf

    Full Text Available Dental fluorosis has recently been diagnosed in wild marsupials inhabiting a high-fluoride area in Victoria, Australia. Information on the histopathology of fluorotic marsupial enamel has thus far not been available. This study analyzed the developmental and post-eruptive defects in fluorotic molar enamel of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus from the same high-fluoride area using light microscopy and backscattered electron imaging in the scanning electron microscope. The fluorotic enamel exhibited a brownish to blackish discolouration due to post-eruptive infiltration of stains from the oral cavity and was less resistant to wear than normally mineralized enamel of kangaroos from low-fluoride areas. Developmental defects of enamel included enamel hypoplasia and a pronounced hypomineralization of the outer (sub-surface enamel underneath a thin rim of well-mineralized surface enamel. While the hypoplastic defects denote a disturbance of ameloblast function during the secretory stage of amelogenesis, the hypomineralization is attributed to an impairment of enamel maturation. In addition to hypoplastic defects, the fluorotic molars also exhibited numerous post-eruptive enamel defects due to the flaking-off of portions of the outer, hypomineralized enamel layer during mastication. The macroscopic and histopathological lesions in fluorotic enamel of M. giganteus match those previously described for placental mammals. It is therefore concluded that there exist no principal differences in the pathogenic mechanisms of dental fluorosis between marsupial and placental mammals. The regular occurrence of hypomineralized, opaque outer enamel in the teeth of M. giganteus and other macropodids must be considered in the differential diagnosis of dental fluorosis in these species.

  8. Utilization of bio-resources by low energy electron beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kume, Tamikazu

    2003-01-01

    Utilization of bio-resources by radiation has been investigated for recycling the natural resources and reducing the environmental pollution. Polysaccharides such as chitosan and sodium alginate were easily degraded by irradiation and induced various kinds of biological activities, i.g. anti-microbial activity, promotion of plant growth, suppression of heavy metal stress, phytoalexins induction. Radiation degraded chitosan was effective to enhance the growth of plants in tissue culture. It was demonstrated that the liquid sample irradiation system using low energy EB was effective for the preparation of degraded polysaccharides. Methylcellulose (MC) can be crosslinked under certain radiation condition as same as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and produced the biodegradable hydrogel for medical and agricultural use. Treatment of soybean seeds by low energy EB enhanced the growth and the number of rhizobia on the root. (author)

  9. Adaptation of mathematical educational content in e-learning resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuliya V. Vainshtein

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Modern trends in the world electronic educational system development determine the necessity of adaptive learning intellectual environments and resources’ development and implementation. An upcoming trend in improvement the quality of studying mathematical disciplines is the development and application of adaptive electronic educational resources. However, the development and application experience of adaptive technologies in higher education is currently extremely limited and does not imply the usage flexibility. Adaptive educational resources in the electronic environment are electronic educational resources that provide the student with a personal educational space, filled with educational content that “adapts” to the individual characteristics of the students and provides them with the necessary information.This article focuses on the mathematical educational content adaptation algorithms development and their implementation in the e-learning system. The peculiarity of the proposed algorithms is the possibility of their application and distribution for adaptive e-learning resources construction. The novelty of the proposed approach is the three-step content organization of the adaptive algorithms for the educational content: “introductory adaptation of content”, “the current adaptation of content”, “estimative and a corrective adaptation”. For each stage of the proposed system, mathematical algorithms for educational content adaptation in adaptive e-learning resources are presented.Due to the high level of abstraction and complexity perception of mathematical disciplines, educational content is represented in the various editions of presentation that correspond to the levels of assimilation of the course material. Adaptation consists in the selection of the optimal edition of the material that best matches the individual characteristics of the student. The introduction of a three-step content organization of the adaptive

  10. Internet and Electronic Information Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-12-01

    centers to form consortia and share electronic information sources. Although traditional resource sharing arrangements encouraged competition rather...outside world, through public relations and through marketing information products or services, to its own competitive advantage (Davenport 1997: 193-217... electronic information sources are a challenge for electronic information managers. Libraries and information centers are no longer “the only game in town

  11. Electronic Information Access and Utilization by Makerere University Students in Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisam Magara

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Objectives – The objectives of this study were to establish the level of computer utilization skills of Makerere University (Uganda Library and Information Science (LIS students; to determine the use of electronic information resources by LIS students; to determine the attitudes of LIS students towards electronic information resources; and to establish the problems faced by LIS students in accessing electronic information resources.Methods – A questionnaire survey was used for data collection.Results – The majority of Library and Information Science students at Makerere University depend on university computers for their work, and very few of them access the library’s e-resources. The few who access e-resources are self-taught. The majority of students surveyed were unaware of Emerald and EBSCO databases relevant to Library and Information Science students, and they found accessing eresources time-consuming. Conclusion – The study concluded that a concerted effort is needed by both LIS lecturers and university librarians in promoting use of the library’s electronic resources.

  12. Dynamic models for distributed generation resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morched, A.S. [BPR Energie, Sherbrooke, PQ (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    Distributed resources can impact the performance of host power systems during both normal and abnormal system conditions. This PowerPoint presentation discussed the use of dynamic models for identifying potential interaction problems between interconnected systems. The models were designed to simulate steady state behaviour as well as transient responses to system disturbances. The distributed generators included directly coupled and electronically coupled generators. The directly coupled generator was driven by wind turbines. Simplified models of grid-side inverters, electronically coupled wind generators and doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) were presented. The responses of DFIGs to wind variations were evaluated. Synchronous machine and electronically coupled generator responses were compared. The system model components included load models, generators, protection systems, and system equivalents. Frequency responses to islanding events were reviewed. The study demonstrated that accurate simulations are needed to predict the impact of distributed generation resources on the performance of host systems. Advances in distributed generation technology have outpaced the development of models needed for integration studies. tabs., figs.

  13. Availability of Electronic Resources for Service Provision in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study also revealed that majority of the University libraries have adequate basic infrastructure for effective electronic information services. ... acquired by the library are put into maximal use by the library clientele, thereby ensuring the achievement of the library's objective which is satisfying the users, information needs.

  14. Effects of hypothyroidism on myosin heavy chain composition and fibre types of fast skeletal muscles in a small marsupial, Antechinus flavipes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Wendy W H; Withers, Kerry W; Hoh, Joseph F Y

    2010-04-01

    Effects of drug-induced hypothyroidism on myosin heavy chain (MyHC) content and fibre types of fast skeletal muscles were studied in a small marsupial, Antechinus flavipes. SDS-PAGE of MyHCs from the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius revealed four isoforms, 2B, 2X, 2A and slow, in that order of decreasing abundance. After 5 weeks treatment with methimazole, the functionally fastest 2B MyHC significantly decreased, while 2X, 2A and slow MyHCs increased. Immunohistochemistry using monospecific antibodies to each of the four MyHCs revealed decreased 2b and 2x fibres, and increased 2a and hybrid fibres co-expressing two or three MyHCs. In the normally homogeneously fast superficial regions of these muscles, evenly distributed slow-staining fibres appeared, resembling the distribution of slow primary myotubes in fast muscles during development. Hybrid fibres containing 2A and slow MyHCs were virtually absent. These results are more detailed but broadly similar to the earlier studies on eutherians. We hypothesize that hypothyroidism essentially reverses the effects of thyroid hormone on MyHC gene expression of muscle fibres during myogenesis, which differ according to the developmental origin of the fibre: it induces slow MyHC expression in 2b fibres derived from fast primary myotubes, and shifts fast MyHC expression in fibres of secondary origin towards 2A, but not slow, MyHC.

  15. Emotional Intelligence Research within Human Resource Development Scholarship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnia, Forouzan; Nafukho, Fredrick Muyia

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review and synthesize pertinent emotional intelligence (EI) research within the human resource development (HRD) scholarship. Design/methodology/approach: An integrative review of literature was conducted and multiple electronic databases were searched to find the relevant resources. Using the content…

  16. Regional Extinctions and Quaternary Shifts in the Geographic Range of Lestodelphys halli, the Southernmost Living Marsupial: Clues for Its Conservation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anahí E Formoso

    Full Text Available The Patagonian opossum (Lestodelphys halli, the southernmost living marsupial, inhabits dry and open environments, mainly in the Patagonian steppe (between ~32 °S and ~49 °S. Its rich fossil record shows its occurrence further north in Central Argentina during the Quaternary. The paleoenvironmental meaning of the past distribution of L. halli has been mostly addressed in a subjective framework without an explicit connection with the climatic "space" currently occupied by this animal. Here, we assessed the potential distribution of this species and the changes occurred in its geographic range during late Pleistocene-Holocene times and linked the results obtained with conservation issues. To this end, we generated three potential distribution models with fossil records and three with current ones, using MaxEnt software. These models showed a decrease in the suitable habitat conditions for the species, highlighting a range shift from Central-Eastern to South-Western Argentina. Our results support that the presence of L. halli in the Pampean region during the Pleistocene-Holocene can be related to precipitation and temperature variables and that its current presence in Patagonia is more related to temperature and dominant soils. The models obtained suggest that the species has been experiencing a reduction in its geographic range since the middle Holocene, a process that is in accordance with a general increase in moisture and temperature in Central Argentina. Considering the findings of our work and the future scenario of global warming projected for Patagonia, we might expect a harsh impact on the distribution range of this opossum in the near future.

  17. Regional Extinctions and Quaternary Shifts in the Geographic Range of Lestodelphys halli, the Southernmost Living Marsupial: Clues for Its Conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Formoso, Anahí E.; Martin, Gabriel M.; Teta, Pablo; Carbajo, Aníbal E.; Sauthier, Daniel E. Udrizar; Pardiñas, Ulyses F. J.

    2015-01-01

    The Patagonian opossum (Lestodelphys halli), the southernmost living marsupial, inhabits dry and open environments, mainly in the Patagonian steppe (between ~32°S and ~49°S). Its rich fossil record shows its occurrence further north in Central Argentina during the Quaternary. The paleoenvironmental meaning of the past distribution of L. halli has been mostly addressed in a subjective framework without an explicit connection with the climatic “space” currently occupied by this animal. Here, we assessed the potential distribution of this species and the changes occurred in its geographic range during late Pleistocene-Holocene times and linked the results obtained with conservation issues. To this end, we generated three potential distribution models with fossil records and three with current ones, using MaxEnt software. These models showed a decrease in the suitable habitat conditions for the species, highlighting a range shift from Central-Eastern to South-Western Argentina. Our results support that the presence of L. halli in the Pampean region during the Pleistocene-Holocene can be related to precipitation and temperature variables and that its current presence in Patagonia is more related to temperature and dominant soils. The models obtained suggest that the species has been experiencing a reduction in its geographic range since the middle Holocene, a process that is in accordance with a general increase in moisture and temperature in Central Argentina. Considering the findings of our work and the future scenario of global warming projected for Patagonia, we might expect a harsh impact on the distribution range of this opossum in the near future. PMID:26203650

  18. Atlantic small-mammal: a dataset of communities of rodents and marsupials of the Atlantic forests of South America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bovendorp, Ricardo S; Villar, Nacho; de Abreu-Junior, Edson F; Bello, Carolina; Regolin, André L; Percequillo, Alexandre R; Galetti, Mauro

    2017-08-01

    The contribution of small mammal ecology to the understanding of macroecological patterns of biodiversity, population dynamics, and community assembly has been hindered by the absence of large datasets of small mammal communities from tropical regions. Here we compile the largest dataset of inventories of small mammal communities for the Neotropical region. The dataset reviews small mammal communities from the Atlantic forest of South America, one of the regions with the highest diversity of small mammals and a global biodiversity hotspot, though currently covering less than 12% of its original area due to anthropogenic pressures. The dataset comprises 136 references from 300 locations covering seven vegetation types of tropical and subtropical Atlantic forests of South America, and presents data on species composition, richness, and relative abundance (captures/trap-nights). One paper was published more than 70 yr ago, but 80% of them were published after 2000. The dataset comprises 53,518 individuals of 124 species of small mammals, including 30 species of marsupials and 94 species of rodents. Species richness averaged 8.2 species (1-21) per site. Only two species occurred in more than 50% of the sites (the common opossum, Didelphis aurita and black-footed pigmy rice rat Oligoryzomys nigripes). Mean species abundance varied 430-fold, from 4.3 to 0.01 individuals/trap-night. The dataset also revealed a hyper-dominance of 22 species that comprised 78.29% of all individuals captured, with only seven species representing 44% of all captures. The information contained on this dataset can be applied in the study of macroecological patterns of biodiversity, communities, and populations, but also to evaluate the ecological consequences of fragmentation and defaunation, and predict disease outbreaks, trophic interactions and community dynamics in this biodiversity hotspot. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

  19. To get or not to get: the KAUST library e-resources acquisition experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2014-06-01

    In the challenging times of budget cuts and reviews, libraries are faced with issues, among others, such as justifying acquisition, negotiating deals and reviewing current subscriptions (pertaining to electronic resources). With the rapid increase in growth of electronic resources, libraries have to continuously assess their acquisition models and policies to constantly ensure that they are balancing their budget and users’ needs as well. This paper highlights the role played by Technical and IT department of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) library (Saudi Arabia) in acquiring the electronic resources (electronic books, electronic journals, databases, image and reference) for the community. It will describe the processes during the early days when KAUST library was inaugurated; how electronic resources were acquired and what went through during those days. The paper will elaborate further how the acquisition model has evolved and the various important roles played by the library staff in ensuring that acquisitions/subscriptions are justified, within the budget and provides ROI for the library. King Abdullah University is a graduate research university which opened in September 2009 with its first cohort of 800 graduate students (25% female) taught by 100 faculties. The focus of study and research in the university are: Mathematics and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. The university library started with 10 staff. The library has a “state-of-the-art learning and information resource center supporting graduate education and advanced scientific research” (KAUST, 2010).

  20. Terrestrial and aquatic mammals of the Pantanal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CJR. Alho

    Full Text Available Different works have registered the number of mammal species within the natural habitats of the Pantanal based on currently known records, with species richness ranging from 89 to 152 of annotated occurrences. Our present list sums 174 species. However, at least three factors have to be emphasised to deal with recorded numbers: 1 to establish the ecotone limit between the floodplain (which is the Pantanal and its neighbouring domain like the Cerrado, besides the existence of maps recently produced; 2 the lack of intensive surveys, especially on small mammals, rodents and marsupials; and 3 the constant taxonomic revision on bats, rodents and marsupials. Some species are very abundant - for example the capybara Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris and the crab-eating fox Cerdocyon thous, and some are rare, and others are still intrinsically rare - for example, the bush dog Speothos venaticus. Abundance of species is assumed to reflect ecological resources of the habitat. Local diversity and number of individuals of wild rodents and marsupials also rely on the offering of ecological resources and behavioural specialisation to microhabitat components. A large number of species interact with the type of the vegetation of the habitat, by means of habitat selection through active patterns of ecological behaviour, resulting on dependency on arboreal and forested habitats of the Pantanal. In addition, mammals respond to seasonal shrinking-and-expansion of habitats due to flooding regime of the Pantanal. The highest number of species is observed during the dry season, when there is a considerable expansion of terrestrial habitats, mainly seasonally flooded grassland. Major threats to mammal species are the loss and alteration of habitats due to human intervention, mainly deforestation, unsustainable agricultural and cattle-ranching practices, which convert the natural vegetation into pastures. The Pantanal still harbours about a dozen of species officially listened

  1. Utilisation of Online Resources among Undergraduates in Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Electronic book (e-book) was mostly utilized as against Ejournals and E-thesis, while mobile phones and cybercafés remain the channels used in accessing online resources. it was discovered that incessant power supply, slow Internet connectivity and lack of time to access the information resources are constraints to ...

  2. Automotive electronics design fundamentals

    CERN Document Server

    Zaman, Najamuz

    2015-01-01

    This book explains the topology behind automotive electronics architectures and examines how they can be profoundly augmented with embedded controllers. These controllers serve as the core building blocks of today’s vehicle electronics. Rather than simply teaching electrical basics, this unique resource focuses on the fundamental concepts of vehicle electronics architecture, and details the wide variety of Electronic Control Modules (ECMs) that enable the increasingly sophisticated "bells & whistles" of modern designs.  A must-have for automotive design engineers, technicians working in automotive electronics repair centers and students taking automotive electronics courses, this guide bridges the gap between academic instruction and industry practice with clear, concise advice on how to design and optimize automotive electronics with embedded controllers.

  3. Gaseous Electronics Tables, Atoms, and Molecules

    CERN Document Server

    Raju, Gorur Govinda

    2011-01-01

    With the constant emergence of new research and application possibilities, gaseous electronics is more important than ever in disciplines including engineering (electrical, power, mechanical, electronics, and environmental), physics, and electronics. The first resource of its kind, Gaseous Electronics: Tables, Atoms, and Molecules fulfills the author's vision of a stand-alone reference to condense 100 years of research on electron-neutral collision data into one easily searchable volume. It presents most--if not all--of the properly classified experimental results that scientists, researchers,

  4. The Frustrated Nerds Project--Resources for Systems Administrators in Higher Education: A Resource Webliography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henninger, Jessamyn; Aber, Susan Ward

    2010-01-01

    Systems Architects and Information Technology administrators working in higher education help faculty, staff, and student computer users. Yet, who helps them? What resources do these professionals value? A case study was conducted using purposeful sampling and data collection through electronic interview to gather the preferred information-seeking…

  5. Human Resource Development in Hybrid Libraries

    OpenAIRE

    Prakasan, E. R.; Swarna, T.; Vijai Kumar, *

    2000-01-01

    This paper explores the human resources and development implications in hybrid libraries. Due to technological changes in libraries, which is a result of the proliferation of electronic resources, there has been a shift in workloads and workflow, requiring staff with different skills and educational backgrounds. Training of staff at all levels in information technology is the key to manage change, alleviate anxiety in the workplace and assure quality service in the libraries. Staff developmen...

  6. Preservation of and Permanent Access to Electronic Information Resources

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hodge, Gail

    2004-01-01

    The rapid growth in the creation and dissemination of electronic information has emphasized the digital environment's speed and ease of dissemination with little regard for its long-term preservation and access...

  7. Implementating Information Technology in E-Human Resource Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina-Dana Popescu (Mitu

    2016-01-01

    More and more organizations have been replacing face-to-face human resource managementactivities with electronic human resource management, which is considered as one of the keyfactors that every organization needs to focus. Considering that human resource management isone of the necessary needs of today’s business, the goal of this article is to establish the importanceof human resource management (HRM, to examine recent research in e-HRM in order to evaluatethe cumulated evidence on the relationship between HRM and e-HRM and to outline the impact ofe-HRM on human resource. Many specialists underlined the fact that human resource requiresmore attention and careful management than any other resource of an organization. This paperalso deals with the influence of Internet and information technology on work and human resourcemanagement.

  8. Predação oportunista de Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823 e Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae por marsupiais e anuro na APA do Rio Curiaú, Amapá, Brasil Opportunistic predation of Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823 and Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae by marsupials and anuran in the APA do Rio Curiaú, Amapá State, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isai Jorge de Castro

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Durante estudos com morcegos em floresta de várzea na APA do Rio Curiaú, Amapá, Brasil, observamos três casos de predações oportunistas de morcegos frugívoros capturados em redes de neblina. Duas destas predações ocorreram por marsupiais e uma por anuro. Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae foi predado por Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758 e Philander opossum (Linnaeus, 1758 (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae. Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae foi predado por Leptodactylus pentadactylus (Laurenti, 1768 (Anura, Leptodactylidae. A vocalização dos morcegos provavelmente atraiu os marsupiais para a rede, onde estes os predaram aproveitando que estavam presos. Este tipo de interação pode ocorrer naturalmente, no entanto, com maior dificuldade de registro.We observed three occasional predations of bats captured in mist nets by marsupials and a frog during studies in a várzea forest in the Amapá state. Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae was preyed upon by Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758 and Philander opossum (Linnaeus, 1758 (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae. Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae was preyed on by Leptodactylus pentadactylus (Laurenti, 1768 (Anura, Leptodactylidae. The bats vocalizations probably attracted the marsupials and a frog to the mist nets where they preyed. This interaction form can occur naturally, however, are more difficult to observed.

  9. Looking for Guidelines for the Production of Electronic Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landoni, M.; Wilson, R.; Gibb, F.

    2001-01-01

    Reports the results of two studies of electronic book production, including production on the World Wide Web, and explains EBONI (Electronic Books On-screen Interface) that focuses on the evaluation of electronic resources and compiling guidelines for publishing electronic materials on the Internet for the United Kingdom higher education…

  10. impact of the use of electronic resources on research output

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    manda

    ... Julita Nawe. University of Dar Es Salaam Library, P.O. Box 35092, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania .... significantly, while 28.3% observed that quality of service to the community had improved .... resources and evaluate them is an important area.

  11. Social Studies Online Resources. Media Corner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Jeri, Ed.

    1995-01-01

    Maintains that three types of social studies activities are found on the information highway: (1) electronic mail; (2) information; and (3) conferencing. Describes examples of each. Discusses commercial services and resource materials and provides references to online services. (CFR)

  12. Green Supply Chain Collaboration for Fashionable Consumer Electronics Products under Third-Party Power Intervention—A Resource Dependence Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiuh-Biing Sheu

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Under third-party power intervention (TPPI, which increases uncertainty in task environments, complex channel power interplays and restructuring are indispensable among green supply chain members as they move toward sustainable collaborative relationships for increased viability and competitive advantage. From the resource dependence perspective, this work presents a novel conceptual model to investigate the influence of political and social power on channel power restructuring and induced green supply chain collaboration in brander-retailer bidirectional green supply chains of fashionable consumer electronics products (FCEPs. An FCEP refers to the consumer electronics product (e.g., personal computers, mobile phones, computer notebooks, and game consoles with the features of a well-known brand associated, a short product lifecycle, timely and fashionable design fit for market trends, and quick responsiveness to the variations of market demands. The proposed model is tested empirically using questionnaire data obtained from retailers in the FCEP brander-retailer distribution channels. Analytical results reveal that as an extension of political and social power, TPPI positively affects the reciprocal interdependence of dyadic members and reduces power asymmetry, thereby enhancing the collaborative relationship of dyadic members and leading to improved green supply chain performance. Therein, reciprocal interdependence underlying collaborative relationship is the key to reducing the external environmental uncertainties in the TPPI context.

  13. A second-generation anchored genetic linkage map of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

    OpenAIRE

    Patel Hardip R; Wakefield Matthew J; Wei Ke-jun; Webley Lee; Wang Chenwei; Deakin Janine E; Alsop Amber; Marshall Graves Jennifer A; Cooper Desmond W; Nicholas Frank W; Zenger Kyall R

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Background The tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, a small kangaroo used for decades for studies of reproduction and metabolism, is the model Australian marsupial for genome sequencing and genetic investigations. The production of a more comprehensive cytogenetically-anchored genetic linkage map will significantly contribute to the deciphering of the tammar wallaby genome. It has great value as a resource to identify novel genes and for comparative studies, and is vital for the ongoing...

  14. Electron beam pasteurised oil palm waste: a potential feed resource

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mat Rasol Awang; Hassan Hamdani Mutaat; Tamikazu Kume; Tachibana, H.

    2002-01-01

    Pasteurization of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was performed using electron beam single sided irradiation. The dose profiles of oil palm EFB samples for different thickness in both directions X and Y were established. The results showed the usual characteristics dose uniformity as sample thickness decreased. The mean average absorbed dose on both sides at the surface and bottom of the samples for different thickness samples lead to establishing depth dose curve. Based on depth dose curve and operation conditions of electron beam machine, the process throughput for pasteurized oil palm EFB were estimated. (Author)

  15. The Use of Electronic Resources by Academic Staff at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tella, Adeyinka; Orim, Faith; Ibrahim, Dauda Morenikeji; Memudu, Suleiman Ajala

    2018-01-01

    The use of e-resources is now commonplace among academics in tertiary educational institutions the world over. Many academics including those in the universities are exploring the opportunities of e-resources to facilitate teaching and research. As the use of e-resources is increasing particularly among academics at the University of Ilorin,…

  16. Building the electronic industry's roadmaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulton, William R.

    1995-02-01

    JTEC panelists found a strong consistency among the electronics firms they visited: all the firms had clear visions or roadmaps for their research and development activities and had committed resources to ensure that they achieve targeted results. The overarching vision driving Japan's electronics industry is that of achieving market success through developing appealing, high-quality, low-cost consumer goods - ahead of the competition. Specifics of the vision include improving performance, quality, and portability of consumer electronics products. Such visions help Japanese companies define in detail the roadmaps they will follow to develop new and improved electronic packaging technologies.

  17. Stimulus fear relevance and the speed, magnitude, and robustness of vicariously learned fear.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunne, Güler; Reynolds, Gemma; Askew, Chris

    2017-08-01

    Superior learning for fear-relevant stimuli is typically indicated in the laboratory by faster acquisition of fear responses, greater learned fear, and enhanced resistance to extinction. Three experiments investigated the speed, magnitude, and robustness of UK children's (6-10 years; N = 290; 122 boys, 168 girls) vicariously learned fear responses for three types of stimuli. In two experiments, children were presented with pictures of novel animals (Australian marsupials) and flowers (fear-irrelevant stimuli) alone (control) or together with faces expressing fear or happiness. To determine learning speed the number of stimulus-face pairings seen by children was varied (1, 10, or 30 trials). Robustness of learning was examined via repeated extinction procedures over 3 weeks. A third experiment compared the magnitude and robustness of vicarious fear learning for snakes and marsupials. Significant increases in fear responses were found for snakes, marsupials and flowers. There was no indication that vicarious learning for marsupials was faster than for flowers. Moreover, vicariously learned fear was neither greater nor more robust for snakes compared to marsupials, or for marsupials compared to flowers. These findings suggest that for this age group stimulus fear relevance may have little influence on vicarious fear learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Resources to Manage a Private Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aigner, John; Cheek, Fredricka; Donati, Georgia; Zuravicky, Dori

    1997-01-01

    Includes four theme articles: "The Digital Toolkit: Electronic Necessities for Private Practice" (John Aigner); "Organizing a Private Practice: Forms, Fees, and Physical Set-up (Fredricka Cheek); "Career Development Resources: Guidelines for Setting Up a Private Practice Library" (Georgia Donati); and "Books to…

  19. Current status of electron beam treatment of flue gas in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Zhiguang

    2006-01-01

    Fossil resource especially coal will remain the main energy resource in China over the next 3 ∼4 decades. Pollution of flue gas from fossil power station is one problem being desiderated to solve since 1990's. Electron beam treatment of flue gas as an advanced technique has been developed and used by some institutes and industries in China. The current status of flue gas treatment using electron beam and the development of electron accelerator in China are reviewed. (author)

  20. Teleoperated Marsupial Mobile Sensor Platform Pair for Telepresence Insertion Into Challenging Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krasowski, Michael J.; Prokop, Norman F.; Greer, Lawrence C.

    2011-01-01

    A platform has been developed for two or more vehicles with one or more residing within the other (a marsupial pair). This configuration consists of a large, versatile robot that is carrying a smaller, more specialized autonomous operating robot(s) and/or mobile repeaters for extended transmission. The larger vehicle, which is equipped with a ramp and/or a robotic arm, is used to operate over a more challenging topography than the smaller one(s) that may have a more limited inspection area to traverse. The intended use of this concept is to facilitate the insertion of a small video camera and sensor platform into a difficult entry area. In a terrestrial application, this may be a bus or a subway car with narrow aisles or steep stairs. The first field-tested configuration is a tracked vehicle bearing a rigid ramp of fixed length and width. A smaller six-wheeled vehicle approximately 10 in. (25 cm) wide by 12 in. (30 cm) long resides at the end of the ramp within the larger vehicle. The ramp extends from the larger vehicle and is tipped up into the air. Using video feedback from a camera atop the larger robot, the operator at a remote location can steer the larger vehicle to the bus door. Once positioned at the door, the operator can switch video feedback to a camera at the end of the ramp to facilitate the mating of the end of the ramp to the top landing at the upper terminus of the steps. The ramp can be lowered by remote control until its end is in contact with the top landing. At the same time, the end of the ramp bearing the smaller vehicle is raised to minimize the angle of the slope the smaller vehicle has to climb, and further gives the operator a better view of the entry to the bus from the smaller vehicle. Control is passed over to the smaller vehicle and, using video feedback from the camera, it is driven up the ramp, turned oblique into the bus, and then sent down the aisle for surveillance. The demonstrated vehicle was used to scale the steps leading to

  1. Where Doctors Read Health Information Resources and Their ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Resources Media Preferences. Obianuju E. ... The survey research design was adopted for the study. ... media of assessing health information are the internet, electronic databases, textbooks, journals and .... for Social Sciences (SPSS).

  2. eLearning resources to supplement postgraduate neurosurgery training.

    OpenAIRE

    Stienen, MN; Schaller, K; Cock, H; Lisnic, V; Regli, L; Thomson, S

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: In an increasingly complex and competitive professional environment, improving methods to educate neurosurgical residents is key to ensure high-quality patient care. Electronic (e)Learning resources promise interactive knowledge acquisition. We set out to give a comprehensive overview on available eLearning resources that aim to improve postgraduate neurosurgical training and review the available literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A MEDLINE query was performed, using the search ter...

  3. Electronic Commerce: Government Services in the New Millennium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Terrence A., Ed.

    1998-01-01

    This newsletter features innovations in resource management and information technology to support New York State government. The newsletter contains the following six sections: (1) "Electronic Commerce: Government Services in the New Millennium" -- examining the need for government involvement in electronic commerce policy and…

  4. Electronic Publishing Approaches to Curriculum: Videotex, Teletext and Databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aumente, Jerome

    1986-01-01

    Describes the Journalism Resources Institute (JRI) of Rutgers University in terms of its administrative organization, computer resources, computer facilities use, involvement in electronic publishing, use of the Dow Jones News/Retrieval Database, curricular options, and professional continuing education. (AYC)

  5. PERii electronic journals: Assessing access and use by ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Peter G. Underwood

    institutional subscription to electronic journals through the Programme for Enhancement of .... These strategies include the promotion and marketing of these .... assist students and other library users to access PERii electronic journals resources. ..... Smith, H. Bukirwa, H. Mukasa, O. Snell, P. Adeh-Nsoh, S. Mbuyita, ...

  6. Electronic Information – Threat or Challenge to Librarians and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Electronic Information – Threat or Challenge to Librarians and Library Buildings. ... electronic resources because as new things and methods emerge, they exist ... that world trends in the paper industry and Internet use do not justify the fears ...

  7. Success factors for implementing and sustaining a mature electronic medical record in a low-resource setting: a case study of iSanté in Haiti.

    Science.gov (United States)

    deRiel, E; Puttkammer, N; Hyppolite, N; Diallo, J; Wagner, S; Honoré, J G; Balan, J G; Celestin, N; Vallès, J S; Duval, N; Thimothé, G; Boncy, J; Coq, N R L; Barnhart, S

    2018-03-01

    Electronic health information systems, including electronic medical records (EMRs), have the potential to improve access to information and quality of care, among other things. Success factors and challenges for novel EMR implementations in low-resource settings have increasingly been studied, although less is known about maturing systems and sustainability. One systematic review identified seven categories of implementation success factors: ethical, financial, functionality, organizational, political, technical and training. This case study applies this framework to iSanté, Haiti's national EMR in use in more than 100 sites and housing records for more than 750 000 patients. The author group, consisting of representatives of different agencies within the Haitian Ministry of Health (MSPP), funding partner the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Haiti, and implementing partner the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), identify successes and lessons learned according to the seven identified categories, and propose an additional cross-cutting category, sustainability. Factors important for long-term implementation success of complex information systems are balancing investments in hardware and software infrastructure upkeep, user capacity and data quality control; designing and building a system within the context of the greater eHealth ecosystem with a plan for interoperability and data exchange; establishing system governance and strong leadership to support local system ownership and planning for system financing to ensure sustainability. Lessons learned from 10 years of implementation of the iSanté EMR system are relevant to sustainability of a full range of increasingly interrelated information systems (e.g. for laboratory, supply chain, pharmacy and human resources) in the health sector in low-resource settings. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene

  8. A study on the utilization of serial resources in selected tertiary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A study on the utilization of serial resources in selected tertiary institutions in Ogun State. ... Lagos Journal of Library and Information Science ... Serial resources are publications either in printed form or electronic format issued in successive parts usually having numerical or chronological designations and intended to be ...

  9. Modeling antecedents of electronic medical record system implementation success in low-resource setting hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilahun, Binyam; Fritz, Fleur

    2015-08-01

    With the increasing implementation of Electronic Medical Record Systems (EMR) in developing countries, there is a growing need to identify antecedents of EMR success to measure and predict the level of adoption before costly implementation. However, less evidence is available about EMR success in the context of low-resource setting implementations. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by examining the constructs and relationships of the widely used DeLone and MacLean (D&M) information system success model to determine whether it can be applied to measure EMR success in those settings. A quantitative cross sectional study design using self-administered questionnaires was used to collect data from 384 health professionals working in five governmental hospitals in Ethiopia. The hospitals use a comprehensive EMR system since three years. Descriptive and structural equation modeling methods were applied to describe and validate the extent of relationship of constructs and mediating effects. The findings of the structural equation modeling shows that system quality has significant influence on EMR use (β = 0.32, P quality has significant influence on EMR use (β = 0.44, P service quality has strong significant influence on EMR use (β = 0.36, P effect of EMR use on user satisfaction was not significant. Both EMR use and user satisfaction have significant influence on perceived net-benefit (β = 0.31, P mediating factor in the relationship between service quality and EMR use (P effect on perceived net-benefit of health professionals. EMR implementers and managers in developing countries are in urgent need of implementation models to design proper implementation strategies. In this study, the constructs and relationships depicted in the updated D&M model were found to be applicable to assess the success of EMR in low resource settings. Additionally, computer literacy was found to be a mediating factor in EMR use and user satisfaction of

  10. Application of ICT-based Learning Resources for University Inorganic Chemistry Course Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatyana M. Derkach

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The article studies expediency and efficiency of various ICT-based learning resources use in university inorganic chemistry course training, detects difference of attitudes toward electronic resources between students and faculty members, which create the background for their efficiency loss

  11. Innovation and development of exhibition electronic-commerce based on the properties of electronic-commerce

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiankang

    2017-06-01

    There are two roadmaps of accomplishing exhibition electronic-commerce innovation and development. The first roadmap is that the exhibition organizers should seek mutual benefit cooperation with professional electronic-commerce platform of correspondent area with exhibition projects, thus help exhibitors realize their market object. The second roadmap is to promote innovation and development of electronic-commerce (Business-to-Customer) between both exhibitors and purchasers. Exhibition electronic-commerce must focus on innovative development in the following functions: market research and information service; advertising and business negotiation; online trading and online payment. With the aid of electronic-commerce, exhibition enterprise could have distinctive strengths such as transactions with virtualization, transparency, high efficiency and low cost, enhancing market link during enterprise research and development, promoting the efficiency of internal team collaboration and the individuation of external service, and optimizing resource allocation.

  12. 大學圖書館電子資源之需求分析與行銷策略之研究 A Study of Demands Analysis and Marketing Strategy of Electronic Resources in University Library

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang-Yu Liu

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available 電子資源的出現,使得知識載體有了新的突破,提高了使用者的便利性與即時性。對於圖書館而言,如何使電子資源的使用效益達到最高,必須思考一套有效的行銷策略。電子資源行銷概念應以讀者為導向,尊重讀者的資訊需求,並利用各種宣傳技巧,行銷電子資源,使圖書館能提供更完善的服務。本研究之目的旨在探討讀者的使用需求及電子資源的推廣策略,以獲致最有效益的行銷方式。研究對象以開南大學日間部四學院(商學院、運輸觀光學院、資訊學院、人文社會學院)學生為樣本,佐以缺口分析模型為分析架構,藉以找出個案中讀者/學生對於電子資源使用的真實需求,並進而歸納出提供服務的大學圖書館在其推廣或行銷服務上可有的因應策略。The emergence of electronic resources has made new breakthrough in knowledge carriers because of their ease of use, instant availability, and the characteristic of no time and space constraints. For public libraries to achieve maximum efficiency in its electronic resources, it is necessary to seek the most effective marketing strategies. Therefore, the marketing concept of the electronic resources should be reader oriented, such as respecting and understanding library user’s information needs. Libraries also need to utilize various media and techniques to market the electronic resources, so that more comprehensive services and experiences can be provided to readers. The purpose of this study is to investigate library user’s needs and promotion strategies of electronic resources in order to identify the most effective ways of marketing. This study focuses on the students of the four colleges (College of Business, College of Tourism, College of Information, and College of Humanities and Social Science in Kainan University as subjects in the survey questionnaire. It uses the Gap Analysis

  13. GENDER ANALYSIS OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    use of internet Search engines such as google, yahoo and other free internet resources was found ... empirical studies are undertaken to examine the influence of gender ... H3: Perceived ease of use is positively related to the use of electronic.

  14. Electronics all-in-one for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Lowe, Doug

    2011-01-01

    Take your electronics skills to the next level! If you're looking for a solitary resource that covers everything you need to know about electronics, then look no further. This friendly-and-straightforward guide introduces the basics of electronics and enhances your learning experience by debunking and explaining concepts such as circuits, analog and digital, schematics, voltage, safety concerns, and more. Packed with nearly 900 pages of detailed information, this book shows you how to develop your own breadboard, design your own circuit, and get savvy with schematics. Cover

  15. Electronic U.S. Government Information: Policy Issues and Directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernon, Peter; McClure, Charles R.

    1993-01-01

    Provides an overview of U.S. federal information policy and its treatment of electronic information resources. Highlights include government publications; electronic government information; main providers of government information, including the Government Printing Office; the Freedom of Information Act; public access and use; information…

  16. Connecting Print and Electronic Titles: An Integrated Approach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Judith; Konecky, Joan Latta; Boden, Dana W. R.

    2011-01-01

    Libraries make heavy investments in electronic resources, with many of these resources reflecting title changes, bundled subsets, or content changes of formerly print material. These changes can distance the electronic format from its print origins, creating discovery and access issues. A task force was formed to explore the enhancement of catalog…

  17. The electronic Rothamsted Archive (e-RA), an online resource for data from the Rothamsted long-term experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perryman, Sarah A M; Castells-Brooke, Nathalie I D; Glendining, Margaret J; Goulding, Keith W T; Hawkesford, Malcolm J; Macdonald, Andy J; Ostler, Richard J; Poulton, Paul R; Rawlings, Christopher J; Scott, Tony; Verrier, Paul J

    2018-05-15

    The electronic Rothamsted Archive, e-RA (www.era.rothamsted.ac.uk) provides a permanent managed database to both securely store and disseminate data from Rothamsted Research's long-term field experiments (since 1843) and meteorological stations (since 1853). Both historical and contemporary data are made available via this online database which provides the scientific community with access to a unique continuous record of agricultural experiments and weather measured since the mid-19 th century. Qualitative information, such as treatment and management practices, plans and soil information, accompanies the data and are made available on the e-RA website. e-RA was released externally to the wider scientific community in 2013 and this paper describes its development, content, curation and the access process for data users. Case studies illustrate the diverse applications of the data, including its original intended purposes and recent unforeseen applications. Usage monitoring demonstrates the data are of increasing interest. Future developments, including adopting FAIR data principles, are proposed as the resource is increasingly recognised as a unique archive of data relevant to sustainable agriculture, agroecology and the environment.

  18. Internet resources and web pages for pediatric surgeons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugo-Vicente, H

    2000-02-01

    The Internet, the largest network of connected computers, provides immediate, dynamic, and downloadable information. By re-architecturing the work place and becoming familiar with Internet resources, pediatric surgeons have anticipated the informatics capabilities of this computer-based technology creating a new vision of work and organization in such areas as patient care, teaching, and research. This review aims to highlight how Internet navigational technology can be a useful educational resource in pediatric surgery, examines web pages of interest, and defines ideas of network communication. Basic Internet resources are electronic mail, discussion groups, file transfer, and the Worldwide Web (WWW). Electronic mailing is the most useful resource extending the avenue of learning to an international audience through news or list-servers groups. Pediatric Surgery List Server, the most popular discussion group, is a constant forum for exchange of ideas, difficult cases, consensus on management, and development of our specialty. The WWW provides an all-in-one medium of text, image, sound, and video. Associations, departments, educational sites, organizations, peer-reviewed scientific journals and Medline database web pages of prime interest to pediatric surgeons have been developing at an amazing pace. Future developments of technological advance nurturing our specialty will consist of online journals, telemedicine, international chatting, computer-based training for surgical education, and centralization of cyberspace information into database search sites.

  19. Gauging User Interest in Non-Traditional Library Resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sandberg, Tami; Abbott, Jennifer

    2015-06-23

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a government funded research laboratory based in Golden, Colorado. In addition to collecting traditional library resources such as journals, conference proceedings, and print and electronic books, the library also spends a significant portion of its collection development funds on resources not often found in many libraries: technical industry standards (e.g., ISO, IEC, ASTM, IEEE) and energy-related market reports. Assessing user needs for these resources is difficult for a number of reasons, particularly because standardized usage statistics are lacking or non-existent. Standards and market reports are generally costly and include fairly restrictive license agreements, which increase the importance of making informed collection development decisions. This presentation will discuss the NREL Library's current collection assessment and development practices as they relate to these unique resources.

  20. MendelWeb: An Electronic Science/Math/History Resource for the WWW.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumberg, Roger B.

    This paper describes a hypermedia resource, called MendelWeb that integrates elementary biology, discrete mathematics, and the history of science. MendelWeb is constructed from Gregor Menders 1865 paper, "Experiments in Plant Hybridization". An English translation of Mendel's paper, which is considered to mark the birth of classical and…

  1. Helping Patrons Find Locally Held Electronic Resources: An Interlibrary Loan Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Pamela

    2016-01-01

    The University of North Texas Libraries provide extensive online access to academic journals through major vendor databases. As illustrated by interlibrary loan borrowing requests for items held in our databases, patrons often have difficulty navigating the available resources. In this study, the Interlibrary Loan staff used data gathered from the…

  2. Usability Testing for e-Resource Discovery: How Students Find and Choose e-Resources Using Library Web Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fry, Amy; Rich, Linda

    2011-01-01

    In early 2010, library staff at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio designed and conducted a usability study of key parts of the library web site, focusing on the web pages generated by the library's electronic resources management system (ERM) that list and describe the library's databases. The goal was to discover how users find and…

  3. EDUCATIONAL NETWORK RESOURCES IN JOURNALISM AND PUBLISHING: FEATURES OF THE SITES' CONTENT AND DESIGN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanna A. Zenzina

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the concept of electronic educational resource, its importance for the orientation of students in cyberspace, the basic requirements for the design and content of educational resources eligibility criteria standards. Filed benefits of having their own educational resource for high school. Singled out the importance of the interaction of educational resources with social networks. Detected differences and similarities of design and content of educational resources of Kyiv Universities in journalism and publishing.

  4. Reliability criteria selection for integrated resource planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruiu, D.; Ye, C.; Billinton, R.; Lakhanpal, D.

    1993-01-01

    A study was conducted on the selection of a generating system reliability criterion that ensures a reasonable continuity of supply while minimizing the total costs to utility customers. The study was conducted using the Institute for Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) reliability test system as the study system. The study inputs and results for conditions and load forecast data, new supply resources data, demand-side management resource data, resource planning criterion, criterion value selection, supply side development, integrated resource development, and best criterion values, are tabulated and discussed. Preliminary conclusions are drawn as follows. In the case of integrated resource planning, the selection of the best value for a given type of reliability criterion can be done using methods similar to those used for supply side planning. The reliability criteria values previously used for supply side planning may not be economically justified when integrated resource planning is used. Utilities may have to revise and adopt new, and perhaps lower supply reliability criteria for integrated resource planning. More complex reliability criteria, such as energy related indices, which take into account the magnitude, frequency and duration of the expected interruptions are better adapted than the simpler capacity-based reliability criteria such as loss of load expectation. 7 refs., 5 figs., 10 tabs

  5. Power electronics for renewable energy systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iov, Florin; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2009-01-01

    sources from the conventional, fossil (and short term) based energy sources to renewable energy resources. Another is to use high efficient power electronics in power generation, power transmission/distribution and end-user application. This paper discuss some of the most emerging renewable energy sources......, wind energy and photovoltaics, which by means of power electronics are changing from being minor energy sources to be acting as important power sources in the energy system....

  6. School Building Design and Audio-Visual Resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Committee for Audio-Visual Aids in Education, London (England).

    The design of new schools should facilitate the use of audiovisual resources by ensuring that the materials used in the construction of the buildings provide adequate sound insulation and acoustical and viewing conditions in all learning spaces. The facilities to be considered are: electrical services; electronic services; light control and…

  7. Free and Innovative Teaching Resources for STEM Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, W. J.; McWhirter, J.; Dirks, D.

    2014-12-01

    The Unidata Program Center has implemented a teaching resource facility that allows educators to create, access, and share collections of resource material related to atmospheric, oceanic, and other earth system phenomena. While the facility can manage almost any type of electronic resource, it is designed with scientific data and products, teaching tools such as lesson plans and guided exercises, and tools for displaying data in mind. In addition to being very easy for educators and students to access, the facility makes it simple for other educators and scientists to contribute content related to their own areas of expertise to the collection. This allows existing teaching resources to grow in depth and breadth over time, enhancing their relevance and providing insights from multiple disciplines. Based on the open-source RAMADDA content/data management framework, the teaching resource facility provides a variety of built-in services to analyze and display data, as well as support for Unidata's rich 3D client, the Interactive Data Viewer (IDV).

  8. HELP (INFORMATION ELECTRONIC RESOURCE "CHRONICLE OF ONU: DATES, FACTS, EVENTS": HISTORY OF UNIVERSITY IN INFORMATION SPACE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    А. М. Гавриленко

    2016-03-01

    Object of research is the help information resource "The chronicle of the Odessa national university of I. I. Mechnikov: dates, facts, events". The main objective of our article – to state the main methodological bases of creation of information resource. One of advantages of information resource is possibility of continuous updating and replenishment by new information. Main objective of creation of this information resource is systematization of material on stories of the Odessa national university of I. I. Mechnikov from the date of his basis to the present, ensuring interactive access to information on the main dates, the most significant events in life of university. The base of research are sources on the history of university, chronology of historical development, formation of infrastructure, cadres and scientific researches. In information resource the main stages of development, functioning and transformation of the Odessa University are analyzed, information on its divisions is collected. For creation of this information resource in Scientific library the method of work was developed, the main selection criteria of data are allocated. This information resource have practical value for all who is interested in history of university, historians, scientists-researchers of history of science and the city of Odessa.

  9. Electronic Journals in Academic Libraries: A Comparison of ARL and Non-ARL Libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shemberg, Marian; Grossman, Cheryl

    1999-01-01

    Describes a survey dealing with academic library provision of electronic journals and other electronic resources that compared ARL (Association of Research Libraries) members to non-ARL members. Highlights include full-text electronic journals; computers in libraries; online public access catalogs; interlibrary loan and electronic reserves; access…

  10. Particles and waves in electron optics and microscopy

    CERN Document Server

    Pozzi, Giulio

    2016-01-01

    Advances in Imaging and Electron Physics merges two long-running serials, Advances in Electronics and Electron Physics and Advances in Optical and Electron Microscopy. The series features extended articles on the physics of electron devices (especially semiconductor devices), particle optics at high and low energies, microlithography, image science, digital image processing, electromagnetic wave propagation, electron microscopy, and the computing methods used in all these domains. * Contains contributions from leading authorities on the subject matter* Informs and updates all the latest developments in the field of imaging and electron physics* Provides practitioners interested in microscopy, optics, image processing, mathematical morphology, electromagnetic fields, electron, and ion emission with a valuable resource* Features extended articles on the physics of electron devices (especially semiconductor devices), particle optics at high and low energies, microlithography, image science, and digital image pro...

  11. CLOUD EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR PHYSICS LEARNING RESEARCHES SUPPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleksandr V. Merzlykin

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The definition of cloud educational resource is given in paper. Its program and information components are characterized. The virtualization as the technological ground of transforming from traditional electronic educational resources to cloud ones is reviewed. Such levels of virtualization are described: data storage device virtualization (Data as Service, hardware virtualization (Hardware as Service, computer virtualization (Infrastructure as Service, software system virtualization (Platform as Service, «desktop» virtualization (Desktop as Service, software user interface virtualization (Software as Service. Possibilities of designing the cloud educational resources system for physics learning researches support taking into account standards of learning objects metadata (accessing via OAI-PMH protocol and standards of learning tools interoperability (LTI are shown. The example of integration cloud educational resources into Moodle learning management system with use of OAI-PMH and LTI is given.

  12. QR Codes as Finding Aides: Linking Electronic and Print Library Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Danielle; Schneidewind, Jeff

    2011-01-01

    As part of a focused, methodical, and evaluative approach to emerging technologies, QR codes are one of many new technologies being used by the UC Irvine Libraries. QR codes provide simple connections between print and virtual resources. In summer 2010, a small task force began to investigate how QR codes could be used to provide information and…

  13. Power electronics basics operating principles, design, formulas, and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Rozanov, Yuriy; Chaplygin, Evgeny; Voronin, Pavel

    2015-01-01

    Power Electronics Basics: Operating Principles, Design, Formulas, and Applications provides fundamental knowledge for the analysis and design of modern power electronic devices. This concise and user-friendly resource:Explains the basic concepts and most important terms of power electronicsDescribes the power assemblies, control, and passive components of semiconductor power switchesCovers the control of power electronic devices, from mathematical modeling to the analysis of the electrical processesAddresses pulse-width modulation, power quality control, and multilevel, modular, and multicell

  14. Print and Electronic Resources: Usage Statistics at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapoor, Kanta

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to quantify the use of electronic journals in comparison with the print collections in the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Library. Design/methodology/approach: A detailed analysis was made of the use of lending services, the Xerox facility and usage of electronic journals such as Science Direct,…

  15. Preliminary Radiation Analysis of the Total Ionizing Dose for the Resource Prospector Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojdev, Kristina; Tylka, Allan J.; Atwell, William

    2015-01-01

    NASA's Resource Prospector (RP) is a collaborative project between multiple centers and institutions to search for volatiles at the polar regions of the Moon as a potential resource for oxygen and propellant production. The mission is rated Class D and will be the first In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) demonstration on the lunar surface and at the lunar poles. Given that this mission is rated Class D, the project is considering using commercial off the shelf (COTS) electronics parts to reduce cost. However, COTS parts can be more susceptible to space radiation than typical aerospace electronic parts and carry some additional risk. Thus, prior to parts selection, having a better understanding of the radiation environment can assist designers in the parts selection process. The focus of this paper is to provide a preliminary analysis of the radiation environment from launch, through landing on the surface, and some surface stay as an initial step in determining worst case mission doses to assist designers in screening out electronic parts that would not meet the potential dose levels experienced on this mission.

  16. Global application of disorders of sex development-related electronic resources: e-learning, e-consultation and e-information sharing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muscarella, Miriam; Kranenburg-van Koppen, Laura; Grijpink-van den Biggelaar, Kalinka; Drop, Stenvert L S

    2014-01-01

    The past 20 years have seen proliferation of electronic (e) resources that promote improved understanding of disorders of sex development (DSD): e-learning for physicians and trainees, e-consultation between clinicians, and e-information for families and affected individuals. Recent e-learning advances have emerged from the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology's online learning portal for current physicians and trainees. Developed with attention to developing clinical competencies incorporating learning theory, and presenting material that represents international best practice, this e-learning portal offers advances in training, making information more accessible for clinicians and trainees. Multiple levels of instruction, authentic case examples, collaborative forums for physicians and trainees, individualized feedback and user-friendly tools represent advances in trainee and physician learning that can take place in any location. e-consultation is an emerging tool that aims to connect physicians with specialists experienced in DSD care. Although it faces logistical challenges, e-consultation carries the potential to improve DSD care, especially in remote areas with limited access to DSD specialists. e-information for families and patients of all ages is widely accessible online, often with focus on DSD biology, medical care, and psychological and social support. e-information tools aid self-management and support of those affected by DSD. Efforts to improve these resources should aim to map information to individual users, incorporate optimally clear nomenclature, and continue as a 'shared enterprise' of clinicians, affected individuals, families and researchers. Improving the quality of DSD-related e-learning and e-information and developing e-consultation carries the potential to transform DSD care and support for patients, families and physicians worldwide. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  17. Improving the Status of Human and Material Resources in Public ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Improving the Status of Human and Material Resources in Public Primary School in Oyo States ... the Millennium Development Goals project in the State. ... libraries, well-equipped first aid centres, adequate electronically projected instructional ...

  18. Karyotype characterization and nucleolar organizer regions of marsupial species (Didelphidae from areas of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Núbia P. Pereira

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The karyotypes of 23 specimens belonging to 16 species from nine genera of Brazilian marsupials (family Didelphidae were studied. The animals were collected in eight localities of Cerrado or Atlantic Forest biomes in the states of Goiás, Tocantins and São Paulo. The karyotypes were analyzed after conventional Giemsa staining and silver staining of the nucleolus organizer regions (Ag-NORs. New karyotypic data were obtained for Gracilinanus microtarsus (2n = 14, FN = 24, Marmosops paulensis (2n = 14, FN = 24 , Micoreus paraguayanus (2n = 14, FN = 20 and Monodelphis rubida (2n = 18, FN = 32 and are discussed in detail. The karyotypes of G. microtarsus , M. paulensis and M. paraguayanus include three large pairs of submetacentrics (pairs 1, 2 and 3 and a medium-sized metacentric or submetacentric pair 4. Pairs 5 and 6 are small submetacentrics in G. microtarsus and M. paulensis and acrocentrics in M. paraguayanus . M. paulensis presented a single Ag-NOR in pair 6 (6p6p, while M. paraguayanus exhibited multiple Ag-NORs in pairs 5 and 6 (5pq5pq6p6p. There was variation in size and morphology of the sex chromosomes among these species. Monodelphis rubida presented a karyotype with 2n = 18 and FN = 32 composed of a large submetacentric pair 1, a medium-sized metacentric pair 2 and six pairs of submetacentrics (pairs 3 through 8. The X was a small acrocentric and the Y was dot-like. A single Ag-NOR bearing pair (5p5p characterized M. rubida. Relevant karyotypic information was obtained for 19 specimens belonging to 12 species collected in areas sampled for the first time [ Caluromys lanatus and C. philander (2n = 14, FN = 20, Gracilinanus emiliae (2n = 14, FN = 24, Marmosa murina , Metachirus nudicaudatus and Micoureus demerarae (2n = 14, FN = 20, Monodelphis americana (2n = 18, FN = 32 and M. domestica (2n = 18, FN = 20, and Didelphis marsupialis, Philander frenata, P. opossum and P. sp (2n = 22, FN = 20]. Although the karyotypes were relatively

  19. Innovations in electronic services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dagmara Wach

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Summarry Existence in electronic business has become increasingly difficult. High competition and considerable financial resources needed to enter electronic market are the problems of most micro and small sized enterprises, starting or developing their business. Nevertheless, there is a market niche for them, which can ensure success and grant partial financing of the business. This niche are small web projects, providing the customer with personalized service, hitting his tastes and meeting immediate needs. A projects that large websites are unable to perform. Financial sourcing of those projects comes from EU subsidies, in the framework of the Działanie 8.1. PO IG, 2007-2013.

  20. Power Electronics in Wind Turbine Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blaabjerg, Frede; Chen, Zhe; Teodorescu, Remus

    2006-01-01

    the conventional, fossil (and short term) based energy sources to renewable energy resources. The other is to use high efficient power electronics in power systems, power production and end-user application. This paper discuss the most emerging renewable energy source, wind energy, which by means of power...... electronics is changing from being a minor energy source to be acting as an important power source in the energy system. By that wind power is also getting an added value in the power system operation....

  1. Scanning Electron Microscopic Structure of the Lingual Papillae of the Common Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Shigenori; Schraufnagel, Dean E.

    2005-08-01

    The mammalian tongue has evolved for specialized functions in different species. The structure of its papillae tells about the animal's diet, habit, and taxonomy. The opossum has four kinds of lingual papillae (filiform, conical, fungiform, vallate). Scanning electron microscopy of the external features, connective tissue cores, and corrosion casts of the microvasculature show the filiform papillae have a spearhead-like main process and spiny accessory processes around the apical part of the main process. The shape and number of both processes depend on their position on the tongue. On the apex, the main processes have shovel-like capillary networks and the accessory processes have small conical networks. On the lingual radix, the processes have small capillary loops. In the patch region, conical papillae have capillaries arranged as a full sail curving posteriorly. The fungiform papillae are scattered among the filiform papillae and have capillary baskets beneath each taste bud. Giant fungiform papillae on the tongue tip are three to four times larger than the ones on the lingual body. Capillaries of giant papillae form a fan-shaped network. The opossum has three vallate papillae arranged in a triangle. Their tops have secondary capillary loops but not their lateral surfaces. Mucosal folds on the posterolateral border have irregular, fingerlike projections with cylindrical capillary networks. These findings and the structure of the rest of the masticatory apparatus suggest the lingual papillae of opossum have kept their ancestral carnivorous features but also developed the herbivore characteristics of other marsupials.

  2. Multimedia presentation as a form of E-learning resources in the educational process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bizyaev АА

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the features of the use of multimedia presentations as an electronic learning resource in the educational process, reflecting resource requirements; pedagogical goals that may be achieved. Currently one of the main directions in the educational process is the effective use of teaching computers. Pressing issue implementation of information and communication technologies in education is to develop educational resources with the aim to increase the level and quality of education.

  3. Sustainable Steel Carburization by Using Snack Packaging Plastic Waste as Carbon Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Songyan Yin

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the research regarding waste conversion to resources technology has attracted growing attention with the continued increase of waste accumulation issues and rapid depletion of natural resources. However, the study, with respect to utilizing plastics waste as carbon resources in the metals industry, is still limited. In this work, an environmentally friendly approach to utilize snack packaging plastic waste as a valuable carbon resources for steel carburization is investigated. At high temperature, plastic waste could be subject to pyrolytic gasification and decompose into small molecular hydrocarbon gaseous products which have the potential to be used as carburization agents for steel. When heating some snack packaging plastic waste and a steel sample together at the carburization temperature, a considerable amount of carbon-rich reducing gases, like methane, could be liberated from the plastic waste and absorbed by the steel sample as a carbon precursor for carburization. The resulting carburization effect on steel was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalyzer, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer techniques. These investigation results all showed that snack packaging plastic waste could work effectively as a valuable carbon resource for steel carburization leading to a significant increase of surface carbon content and the corresponding microstructure evolution in steel.

  4. Numerical simulation of transient moisture and temperature distribution in polycarbonate and aluminum electronic enclosures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shojaee Nasirabadi, Parizad; Jabbaribehnam, Mirmasoud; Hattel, Jesper Henri

    2016-01-01

    The challenge of developing a reliable electronic product requires huge amounts of resources and knowledge. Temperature and thermal features directly affect the life of electronic products. Furthermore, moisture can be damaging for electronic components. Nowadays, computational fluid dynamics (CF...

  5. Students developing resources for students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearce, Michael; Evans, Darrell

    2012-06-01

    The development of new technologies has provided medical education with the ability to enhance the student learning experience and meet the needs of changing curricula. Students quickly adapt to using multimedia learning resources, but these need to be well designed, learner-centred and interactive for students to become significantly engaged. One way to ensure that students become committed users and that resources become distinct elements of the learning cycle is to involve students in resource design and production. Such an approach enables resources to accommodate student needs and preferences, but also provides opportunities for them to develop their own teaching and training skills. The aim of the medical student research project was to design and produce an electronic resource that was focused on a particular anatomical region. The views of other medical students were used to decide what features were suitable for inclusion and the resulting package contained basic principles and clinical relevance, and used a variety of approaches such as images of cadaveric material, living anatomy movies and quizzes. The completed package was assessed using a survey matrix and found to compare well with commercially available products. Given the ever-diversifying arena of multimedia instruction and the ability of students to be fully conversant with technology, this project demonstrates that students are ideal participants and creators of multimedia resources. It is hoped that such an approach will help to further develop the skill base of students, but will also provide an avenue of developing packages that are student user friendly, and that are focused towards particular curricula requirements. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

  6. eLearning resources to supplement postgraduate neurosurgery training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stienen, Martin N; Schaller, Karl; Cock, Hannah; Lisnic, Vitalie; Regli, Luca; Thomson, Simon

    2017-02-01

    In an increasingly complex and competitive professional environment, improving methods to educate neurosurgical residents is key to ensure high-quality patient care. Electronic (e)Learning resources promise interactive knowledge acquisition. We set out to give a comprehensive overview on available eLearning resources that aim to improve postgraduate neurosurgical training and review the available literature. A MEDLINE query was performed, using the search term "electronic AND learning AND neurosurgery". Only peer-reviewed English-language articles on the use of any means of eLearning to improve theoretical knowledge in postgraduate neurosurgical training were included. Reference lists were crosschecked for further relevant articles. Captured parameters were the year, country of origin, method of eLearning reported, and type of article, as well as its conclusion. eLearning resources were additionally searched for using Google. Of n = 301 identified articles by the MEDLINE search, n = 43 articles were analysed in detail. Applying defined criteria, n = 28 articles were excluded and n = 15 included. Most articles were generated within this decade, with groups from the USA, the UK and India having a leadership role. The majority of articles reviewed existing eLearning resources, others reported on the concept, development and use of generated eLearning resources. There was no article that scientifically assessed the effectiveness of eLearning resources (against traditional learning methods) in terms of efficacy or costs. Only one article reported on satisfaction rates with an eLearning tool. All authors of articles dealing with eLearning and the use of new media in neurosurgery uniformly agreed on its great potential and increasing future use, but most also highlighted some weaknesses and possible dangers. This review found only a few articles dealing with the modern aspects of eLearning as an adjunct to postgraduate neurosurgery training. Comprehensive

  7. Retrotransposon silencing by DNA methylation can drive mammalian genomic imprinting.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shunsuke Suzuki

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Among mammals, only eutherians and marsupials are viviparous and have genomic imprinting that leads to parent-of-origin-specific differential gene expression. We used comparative analysis to investigate the origin of genomic imprinting in mammals. PEG10 (paternally expressed 10 is a retrotransposon-derived imprinted gene that has an essential role for the formation of the placenta of the mouse. Here, we show that an orthologue of PEG10 exists in another therian mammal, the marsupial tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii, but not in a prototherian mammal, the egg-laying platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus, suggesting its close relationship to the origin of placentation in therian mammals. We have discovered a hitherto missing link of the imprinting mechanism between eutherians and marsupials because tammar PEG10 is the first example of a differentially methylated region (DMR associated with genomic imprinting in marsupials. Surprisingly, the marsupial DMR was strictly limited to the 5' region of PEG10, unlike the eutherian DMR, which covers the promoter regions of both PEG10 and the adjacent imprinted gene SGCE. These results not only demonstrate a common origin of the DMR-associated imprinting mechanism in therian mammals but provide the first demonstration that DMR-associated genomic imprinting in eutherians can originate from the repression of exogenous DNA sequences and/or retrotransposons by DNA methylation.

  8. The impact of an electronic clinical decision support for pulmonary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    State-of-the-art electronic radiology workflow can provide clinical decision support (CDS) for specialised imaging requests, but there has been limited work on the clinical impact of CDS in PE, particularly in resource-constrained environments. Objective. To determine the impact of an electronic CDS for PE on the efficiency ...

  9. Eavesdropping on Electronic Guidebooks: Observing Learning Resources in Shared Listening Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodruff, Allison; Aoki, Paul M.; Grinter, Rebecca E.; Hurst, Amy; Szymanski, Margaret H.; Thornton, James D.

    This paper describes an electronic guidebook, "Sotto Voce," that enables visitors to share audio information by eavesdropping on each others guidebook activity. The first section discusses the design and implementation of the guidebook device, key aspects of its user interface, the design goals for the audio environment, the eavesdropping…

  10. Understanding intention to use electronic information resources: A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model (TAM).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Donghua

    2008-11-06

    This study extended the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by examining the roles of two aspects of e-resource characteristics, namely, information quality and system quality, in predicting public health students' intention to use e-resources for completing research paper assignments. Both focus groups and a questionnaire were used to collect data. Descriptive analysis, data screening, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were used for data analysis. The study found that perceived usefulness played a major role in determining students' intention to use e-resources. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use fully mediated the impact that information quality and system quality had on behavior intention. The research model enriches the existing technology acceptance literature by extending TAM. Representing two aspects of e-resource characteristics provides greater explanatory information for diagnosing problems of system design, development, and implementation.

  11. The importance of scientific collecting and natural history museums for comparative neuroanatomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwaniuk, Andrew N

    2011-05-01

    The comparative study of vertebrate brains is inherently dependent upon access to a sufficient number of species and specimens to perform meaningful comparisons. Although many studies rely on compiling published information, continued specimen collection, in addition to more extensive use of existing brain collections and natural history museums, are crucial for detailed neuroanatomical comparisons across species. This review highlights the importance of collecting species through a variety of means, details a marsupial brain collection, and stresses the potential of natural history museums as a resource for comparative neuroanatomy. By taking advantage of as many of these resources as possible, researchers can rapidly increase species coverage and generate a better understanding of how the brain evolves. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

  12. Mediated learning in the workplace: student perspectives on knowledge resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanahan, Madeleine

    2015-01-01

    In contemporary clinical practice, student radiographers can use many types of knowledge resources to support their learning. These include workplace experts, digital and nondigital information sources (eg, journals, textbooks, and the Internet), and electronic communication tools such as e-mail and social media. Despite the range of knowledge tools available, there is little available data about radiography students' use of these resources during clinical placement. A 68-item questionnaire was distributed to 62 students enrolled in an Australian university undergraduate radiography program after they completed a clinical placement. Researchers used descriptive statistics to analyze student access to workplace experts and their use of digital and nondigital information sources and electronic communication tools. A 5-point Likert scale (1 = very important; 5 = not important) was used to assess the present importance and perceived future value of knowledge tools for workplace learning. Of the 53 students who completed and returned the questionnaire anonymously, most rely on the knowledge of practicing technologists and on print and electronic information sources to support their learning; some students also use electronic communication tools. Students perceive that these knowledge resources also will be important tools for their future learning as qualified health professionals. The findings from this study present baseline data regarding the value students attribute to multiple knowledge tools and regarding student access to and use of these tools during clinical placement. In addition, most students have access to multiple knowledge tools in the workplace and incorporate these tools simultaneously into their overall learning practice during clinical placement. Although a range of knowledge tools is used in the workplace to support learning among student radiographers, the quality of each tool should be critically analyzed before it is adopted in practice

  13. Realizing what's essential: a case study on integrating electronic journal management into a print-centric technical services department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dollar, Daniel M; Gallagher, John; Glover, Janis; Marone, Regina Kenny; Crooker, Cynthia

    2007-04-01

    To support migration from print to electronic resources, the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library at Yale University reorganized its Technical Services Department to focus on managing electronic resources. The library hired consultants to help plan the changes and to present recommendations for integrating electronic resource management into every position. The library task force decided to focus initial efforts on the periodical collection. To free staff time to devote to electronic journals, most of the print subscriptions were switched to online only and new workflows were developed for e-journals. Staff learned new responsibilities such as activating e-journals, maintaining accurate holdings information in the online public access catalog and e-journals database ("electronic shelf reading"), updating the link resolver knowledgebase, and troubleshooting. All of the serials team members now spend significant amounts of time managing e-journals. The serials staff now spends its time managing the materials most important to the library's clientele (e-journals and databases). The team's proactive approach to maintenance work and rapid response to reported problems should improve patrons' experiences using e-journals. The library is taking advantage of new technologies such as an electronic resource management system, and library workflows and procedures will continue to evolve as technology changes.

  14. Power Electronics for Renewable Energy Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choi, U. M.; Lee, K. B.; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2012-01-01

    The use of renewable energy sources are increased because of the depletion of natural resources and the increasing pollution level from energy production. The wind energy and the solar energy are most widely used among the renewable energy sources. Power electronics is needed in almost all kinds...... of renewable energy system. It controls the renewable source and interfaces with the load effectively, which can be grid-connected or van work in stand-alone mode. In this presentation, overview of wind and photovoltaic energy systems are introduced. Next, the power electronic circuits behind the most common...

  15. An empirical assessment and comparison of species-based and habitat-based surrogates: a case study of forest vertebrates and large old trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindenmayer, David B; Barton, Philip S; Lane, Peter W; Westgate, Martin J; McBurney, Lachlan; Blair, David; Gibbons, Philip; Likens, Gene E

    2014-01-01

    A holy grail of conservation is to find simple but reliable measures of environmental change to guide management. For example, particular species or particular habitat attributes are often used as proxies for the abundance or diversity of a subset of other taxa. However, the efficacy of such kinds of species-based surrogates and habitat-based surrogates is rarely assessed, nor are different kinds of surrogates compared in terms of their relative effectiveness. We use 30-year datasets on arboreal marsupials and vegetation structure to quantify the effectiveness of: (1) the abundance of a particular species of arboreal marsupial as a species-based surrogate for other arboreal marsupial taxa, (2) hollow-bearing tree abundance as a habitat-based surrogate for arboreal marsupial abundance, and (3) a combination of species- and habitat-based surrogates. We also quantify the robustness of species-based and habitat-based surrogates over time. We then use the same approach to model overall species richness of arboreal marsupials. We show that a species-based surrogate can appear to be a valid surrogate until a habitat-based surrogate is co-examined, after which the effectiveness of the former is lost. The addition of a species-based surrogate to a habitat-based surrogate made little difference in explaining arboreal marsupial abundance, but altered the co-occurrence relationship between species. Hence, there was limited value in simultaneously using a combination of kinds of surrogates. The habitat-based surrogate also generally performed significantly better and was easier and less costly to gather than the species-based surrogate. We found that over 30 years of study, the relationships which underpinned the habitat-based surrogate generally remained positive but variable over time. Our work highlights why it is important to compare the effectiveness of different broad classes of surrogates and identify situations when either species- or habitat-based surrogates are likely

  16. Expansion of CORE-SINEs in the genome of the Tasmanian devil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsson, Maria A; Janke, Axel; Murchison, Elizabeth P; Ning, Zemin; Hallström, Björn M

    2012-05-06

    The genome of the carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii, Order: Dasyuromorphia), was sequenced in the hopes of finding a cure for or gaining a better understanding of the contagious devil facial tumor disease that is threatening the species' survival. To better understand the Tasmanian devil genome, we screened it for transposable elements and investigated the dynamics of short interspersed element (SINE) retroposons. The temporal history of Tasmanian devil SINEs, elucidated using a transposition in transposition analysis, indicates that WSINE1, a CORE-SINE present in around 200,000 copies, is the most recently active element. Moreover, we discovered a new subtype of WSINE1 (WSINE1b) that comprises at least 90% of all Tasmanian devil WSINE1s. The frequencies of WSINE1 subtypes differ in the genomes of two of the other Australian marsupial orders. A co-segregation analysis indicated that at least 66 subfamilies of WSINE1 evolved during the evolution of Dasyuromorphia. Using a substitution rate derived from WSINE1 insertions, the ages of the subfamilies were estimated and correlated with a newly established phylogeny of Dasyuromorphia. Phylogenetic analyses and divergence time estimates of mitochondrial genome data indicate a rapid radiation of the Tasmanian devil and the closest relative the quolls (Dasyurus) around 14 million years ago. The radiation and abundance of CORE-SINEs in marsupial genomes indicates that they may be a major player in the evolution of marsupials. It is evident that the early phases of evolution of the carnivorous marsupial order Dasyuromorphia was characterized by a burst of SINE activity. A correlation between a speciation event and a major burst of retroposon activity is for the first time shown in a marsupial genome.

  17. Expansion of CORE-SINEs in the genome of the Tasmanian devil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nilsson Maria A

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The genome of the carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii, Order: Dasyuromorphia, was sequenced in the hopes of finding a cure for or gaining a better understanding of the contagious devil facial tumor disease that is threatening the species’ survival. To better understand the Tasmanian devil genome, we screened it for transposable elements and investigated the dynamics of short interspersed element (SINE retroposons. Results The temporal history of Tasmanian devil SINEs, elucidated using a transposition in transposition analysis, indicates that WSINE1, a CORE-SINE present in around 200,000 copies, is the most recently active element. Moreover, we discovered a new subtype of WSINE1 (WSINE1b that comprises at least 90% of all Tasmanian devil WSINE1s. The frequencies of WSINE1 subtypes differ in the genomes of two of the other Australian marsupial orders. A co-segregation analysis indicated that at least 66 subfamilies of WSINE1 evolved during the evolution of Dasyuromorphia. Using a substitution rate derived from WSINE1 insertions, the ages of the subfamilies were estimated and correlated with a newly established phylogeny of Dasyuromorphia. Phylogenetic analyses and divergence time estimates of mitochondrial genome data indicate a rapid radiation of the Tasmanian devil and the closest relative the quolls (Dasyurus around 14 million years ago. Conclusions The radiation and abundance of CORE-SINEs in marsupial genomes indicates that they may be a major player in the evolution of marsupials. It is evident that the early phases of evolution of the carnivorous marsupial order Dasyuromorphia was characterized by a burst of SINE activity. A correlation between a speciation event and a major burst of retroposon activity is for the first time shown in a marsupial genome.

  18. Rare earth metals-primary resources and prospects of processing secondary resources in India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pandey, B.D.

    2015-01-01

    The importance of Rare earth metals (REMs) in modern technological applications is associated with their spectroscopic and magnetic properties. The occurrence of rare earths in mixed form is commonly reported and their separation to the individual metal is a challenging task because of the similar chemical properties. The economical processing of the primary ores of rare earths is limited to a few countries and their supply at the international level is currently dominated by China. Hence assessing the present scenario of the primary resources of rare earths vis-à-vis their applications and demand is crucial at this stage, besides looking at the alternate resources to ensure availability of REMs; such aspects are covered in the manuscript. In view of the environmental concerns in the processing of ores such as monazite, xenotime, bastnasite, etc, and increasing demand of REMs, corresponding increase in demand of the raw materials has been recorded. It is therefore, necessary to utilize the end-of the-life rare earth containing materials as a rich resource by developing an appropriate recycling technology, which is emerging as a high priority area. To recover the REMs, major secondary resources such as electronic wastes, industrial wastes, spent catalysts and magnets, and phosphors powder, etc, have been considered for now. This will not only open the prospects of utilizing the wastes containing REMs, but will also limit the imports while lowering the production cost and decreasing the load on the primary reserves. The paper also examines the efficient recycling methods to recover a fairly good amount of rare earths which are relevant to India in view of the limited exploitation of the ores. Recovery of REMs from secondary resources using mechanical treatment followed by hydrometallurgical methods is prevalent and the same is reviewed in some detail. The recent R and D work pursued at CSIR-NML to extract (leaching and metal separation using some phosphatic reagents

  19. Guide to state-of-the-art electron devices

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Concise, high quality and comparative overview of state-of-the-art electron device development, manufacturing technologies and applications Guide to State-of-the-Art Electron Devices marks the 60th anniversary of the IEEE Electron Devices Committee and the 35th anniversary of the IEEE Electron Devices Society, as such it defines the state-of-the-art of electron devices, as well as future directions across the entire field. Spans full range of electron device types such as photovoltaic devices, semiconductor manufacturing and VLSI technology and circuits, covered by IEEE Electron and Devices Society Contributed by internationally respected members of the electron devices community A timely desk reference with fully-integrated colour and a unique lay-out with sidebars to highlight the key terms Discusses the historical developments and speculates on future trends to give a more rounded picture of the topics covered A valuable resource R&D managers; engineers in the semiconductor industry; applied scientists...

  20. The Evolution of Electronic Marketplaces: an exploratory study of internet-based electronic within the American Independent Insurance Agency system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Burton

    1998-11-01

    Full Text Available Evolving competitive, organisational and technology environments drive organisations to continually evaluate how information technology resources can be exploited for competitive value. The emergence of a global information infrastructure has spawned an entirely new area for competitive exploitation, electronic marketplaces. This paper first presents a review and synthesis of the conceptual and empirical literature on electronic marketplaces. Drawing upon multiple theoretical perspectives, we develop a framework for analysing their potential influences on market and industry structure. This conceptual framework is then applied to an empirical assessment of the potential of the Internet as an electronic marketplace for the American Independent Insurance Agency System.

  1. Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium 1999 plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-01-30

    The purpose of the Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium is to serve the Texas Panhandle, the State of Texas and the US Department of Energy by: conducting scientific and technical research; advising decision makers; and providing information on nuclear weapons materials and related environment, safety, health, and nonproliferation issues while building academic excellence in science and technology. This paper describes the electronic resource library which provides the national archives of technical, policy, historical, and educational information on plutonium. Research projects related to the following topics are described: Environmental restoration and protection; Safety and health; Waste management; Education; Training; Instrumentation development; Materials science; Plutonium processing and handling; and Storage.

  2. Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium 1999 plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of the Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium is to serve the Texas Panhandle, the State of Texas and the US Department of Energy by: conducting scientific and technical research; advising decision makers; and providing information on nuclear weapons materials and related environment, safety, health, and nonproliferation issues while building academic excellence in science and technology. This paper describes the electronic resource library which provides the national archives of technical, policy, historical, and educational information on plutonium. Research projects related to the following topics are described: Environmental restoration and protection; Safety and health; Waste management; Education; Training; Instrumentation development; Materials science; Plutonium processing and handling; and Storage

  3. Development and evolution of The Knowledge Hub for Pathology and related electronic resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardwick, David F; Sinard, John; Silva, Fred

    2011-06-01

    The Knowledge Hub for Pathology was created to provide authenticated and validated knowledge for United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology members and pathologists worldwide with access to the Web. Using the material presented at the annual meeting of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology with existing selection and review procedures ensured that these criteria were met without added costly procedures. Further submissions for courses and research papers are provided in electronic format and funded by universities and hospitals for their creation; thus, the principal costs borne by the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology are Web site-posting costs. Use has escalated rapidly from 2 million hits in 2002 to 51 million in 2009 with use by 35,000 pathologists from now a total of 180 countries. This true "freemium" model is a successful process as are more traditional continuing professional development course structures such as Anatomic Pathology Electronic Case Series, a "premium" model for learning electronically also sponsored by the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Randomized Controlled Trial of Electronic Care Plan Alerts and Resource Utilization by High Frequency Emergency Department Users with Opioid Use Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niels Rathlev, MD

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: There is a paucity of literature supporting the use of electronic alerts for patients with high frequency emergency department (ED use. We sought to measure changes in opioid prescribing and administration practices, total charges and other resource utilization using electronic alerts to notify providers of an opioid-use care plan for high frequency ED patients. Methods: This was a randomized, non-blinded, two-group parallel design study of patients who had 1 opioid use disorder and 2 high frequency ED use. Three affiliated hospitals with identical electronic health records participated. Patients were randomized into “Care Plan” versus “Usual Care groups”. Between the years before and after randomization, we compared as primary outcomes the following: 1 opioids (morphine mg equivalents prescribed to patients upon discharge and administered to ED and inpatients; 2 total medical charges, and the numbers of; 3 ED visits, 4 ED visits with advanced radiologic imaging (computed tomography [CT] or magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] studies, and 5 inpatient admissions. Results: A total of 40 patients were enrolled. For ED and inpatients in the “Usual Care” group, the proportion of morphine mg equivalents received in the post-period compared with the pre-period was 15.7%, while in the “Care Plan” group the proportion received in the post-period compared with the pre-period was 4.5% (ratio=0.29, 95% CI [0.07-1.12]; p=0.07. For discharged patients in the “Usual Care” group, the proportion of morphine mg equivalents prescribed in the post-period compared with the pre-period was 25.7% while in the “Care Plan” group, the proportion prescribed in the post-period compared to the pre-period was 2.9%. The “Care Plan” group showed an 89% greater proportional change over the periods compared with the “Usual Care” group (ratio=0.11, 95% CI [0.01-0.092]; p=0.04. Care plans did not change the total charges, or, the numbers

  5. Search for Borrelia sp. in ticks collected from potential reservoirs in an urban forest reserve in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil: a short report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IP da Costa

    2002-07-01

    Full Text Available A total of 128 ticks of the genus Amblyomma were recovered from 5 marsupials (Didelphis albiventris - with 4 recaptures - and 17 rodents (16 Bolomys lasiurus and 1 Rattus norvegicus captured in an urban forest reserve in Campo Grande, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Of the ticks collected, 95 (78.9% were in larval form and 22 (21.1% were nymphs; the only adult (0.8% was identified as A. cajennense. Viewed under dark-field microscopy in the fourth month after seeding, 9 cultures prepared from spleens and livers of the rodents, blood of the marsupials, and macerates of Amblyomma sp. nymphs revealed spiral-shaped, spirochete-like structures resembling those of Borrelia sp. Some of them showed little motility, while others were non-motile. No such structures could be found either in positive Giemsa-stained culture smears or under electron microscopy. No PCR amplification of DNA from those cultures could be obtained by employing Leptospira sp., B. burgdorferi, and Borrelia sp. primers. These aspects suggest that the spirochete-like structures found in this study do not fit into the genera Borrelia or Leptospira, requiring instead to be isolated for proper identification.

  6. Development of an Electronic Medical Record Based Alert for Risk of HIV Treatment Failure in a Low-Resource Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puttkammer, Nancy; Zeliadt, Steven; Balan, Jean Gabriel; Baseman, Janet; Destiné, Rodney; Domerçant, Jean Wysler; France, Garilus; Hyppolite, Nathaelf; Pelletier, Valérie; Raphael, Nernst Atwood; Sherr, Kenneth; Yuhas, Krista; Barnhart, Scott

    2014-01-01

    Background The adoption of electronic medical record systems in resource-limited settings can help clinicians monitor patients' adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) and identify patients at risk of future ART failure, allowing resources to be targeted to those most at risk. Methods Among adult patients enrolled on ART from 2005–2013 at two large, public-sector hospitals in Haiti, ART failure was assessed after 6–12 months on treatment, based on the World Health Organization's immunologic and clinical criteria. We identified models for predicting ART failure based on ART adherence measures and other patient characteristics. We assessed performance of candidate models using area under the receiver operating curve, and validated results using a randomly-split data sample. The selected prediction model was used to generate a risk score, and its ability to differentiate ART failure risk over a 42-month follow-up period was tested using stratified Kaplan Meier survival curves. Results Among 923 patients with CD4 results available during the period 6–12 months after ART initiation, 196 (21.2%) met ART failure criteria. The pharmacy-based proportion of days covered (PDC) measure performed best among five possible ART adherence measures at predicting ART failure. Average PDC during the first 6 months on ART was 79.0% among cases of ART failure and 88.6% among cases of non-failure (pART initiation were added to PDC, the risk score differentiated between those who did and did not meet failure criteria over 42 months following ART initiation. Conclusions Pharmacy data are most useful for new ART adherence alerts within iSanté. Such alerts offer potential to help clinicians identify patients at high risk of ART failure so that they can be targeted with adherence support interventions, before ART failure occurs. PMID:25390044

  7. Quality control of the documentation process in electronic economic activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krutova A.S.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available It is proved that the main tool that will provide adequate information resources e economic activities of social and economic relations are documenting quality control processes as the basis of global information space. Directions problems as formation evaluation information resources in the process of documentation, namely development tools assess the efficiency of the system components – qualitative assessment; development of mathematical modeling tools – quantitative evaluation. A qualitative assessment of electronic documentation of economic activity through exercise performance, efficiency of communication; document management efficiency; effectiveness of flow control operations; relationship management effectiveness. The concept of quality control process documents electronically economic activity to components which include: the level of workflow; forms adequacy of information; consumer quality documents; quality attributes; type of income data; condition monitoring systems; organizational level process documentation; attributes of quality, performance quality consumer; type of management system; type of income data; condition monitoring systems. Grounded components of the control system electronic document subjects of economic activity. Detected components IT-audit management system economic activity: compliance audit; audit of internal control; detailed multilevel analysis; corporate risk assessment methodology. The stages and methods of processing electronic transactions economic activity during condition monitoring of electronic economic activity.

  8. E-HRM: innovation or irritation? An exploration of web-based human resource management in large companies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruel, Hubertus Johannes Maria; Bondarouk, Tatiana; Looise, Jan C.

    2004-01-01

    Human Resource Management (HRM of HR) executives are feeling pressured by the threat of a new development in recent years: Electronic Human Resource Management systems, also known as E-HRM. Consultants and other experts purport that this phenomenon will decrease the number of HRM employees, reduce

  9. Rare earths as a future resource

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cornell, D.H.

    1988-01-01

    The fourteen rare earth or lanthanide elements have recently emerged as an important natural resource because of the rapidly growing demand in the electronic, chemical and metallurgical industries. The Symposium on rare earth elements as a future resource presented a multidisciplinary review of rare earth chemistry, geology, beneficiation, industrial applications and marketing. Papers by experts in many fields were presented on the following topics: chemical properties of the rare earth elements; the analysis of rare earth elements and minerals; beneficiation and extraction of rare earth elements; economic geochemistry and mineralogy of rare earths; present industrial uses of rare earth elements; the role of rare earth elements in high-temperature superconductors; the technical application of high-temperature superconductors; supply and demand for rare earth products - now and in the future, and the geology of rare earth deposits

  10. Lithium Resources for the 21st Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesler, S.; Gruber, P.; Medina, P.; Keolian, G.; Everson, M. P.; Wallington, T.

    2011-12-01

    Lithium is an important industrial compound and the principal component of high energy-density batteries. Because it is the lightest solid element, these batteries are widely used in consumer electronics and are expected to be the basis for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for the 21st century. In view of the large incremental demand for lithium that will result from expanded use of various types of EVs, long-term estimates of lithium demand and supply are advisable. For GDP growth rates of 2 to 3% and battery recycling rates of 90 to 100%, total demand for lithium for all markets is expected to be a maximum of 19.6 million tonnes through 2100. This includes 3.2 million tonnes for industrial compounds, 3.6 million tonnes for consumer electronics, and 12.8 million tonnes for EVs. Lithium-bearing mineral deposits that might supply this demand contain an estimated resource of approximately 39 million tonnes, although many of these deposits have not been adequately evaluated. These lithium-bearing mineral deposits are of two main types, non-marine playa-brine deposits and igneous deposits. Playa-brine deposits have the greatest immediate resource potential (estimated at 66% of global resources) and include the Salar de Atacama (Chile), the source of almost half of current world lithium production, as well as Zabuye (China/Tibet) and Hombre Muerto (Argentina). Additional important playa-brine lithium resources include Rincon (Argentina), Qaidam (China), Silver Peak (USA) and Uyuni (Bolivia), which together account for about 35% of the estimated global lithium resource. Information on the size and continuity of brine-bearing aquifers in many of these deposits is limited, and differences in chemical composition of brines from deposit to deposit require different extraction processes and yield different product mixes of lithium, boron, potassium and other elements. Numerous other brines in playas

  11. MULTICRITERIA METHODS IN PERFORMING COMPANIES’ RESULTS USING ELECTRONIC RECRUITING, CORPORATE COMMUNICATION AND FINANCIAL RATIOS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Bilić

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Human resources represent one of the most important companies’ resources responsible in creation of companies’ competitive advantage. In search for the most valuable resources, companies use different methods. Lately, one of the growing methods is electronic recruiting, not only as a recruitment tool, but also as a mean of external communication. Additionally, in the process of corporate communication, companies nowadays use the electronic corporate communication as the easiest, the cheapest and the simplest form of business communication. The aim of this paper is to investigate relationship between three groups of different criteria; including main characteristics of performed electronic recruiting, corporate communication and selected financial performances. Selected companies were ranked separately by each group of criteria by usage of multicriteria decision making method PROMETHEE II. The main idea is to research whether companies which are the highest performers by certain group of criteria obtain the similar results regarding other group of criteria or performing results.

  12. Resource Abundance and Resource Dependence in China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ji, K.; Magnus, J.R.; Wang, W.

    2010-01-01

    This paper reconsiders the ‘curse of resources’ hypothesis for the case of China, and distinguishes between resource abundance, resource rents, and resource dependence. Resource abundance and resource rents are shown to be approximately equivalent, and their association with resource dependence

  13. Resource-based interdependencies in value networks for mobile Internet services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Montalvo, U.W. de; Kar, E. van de; Maitland, C.

    2004-01-01

    The advent of new electronic platforms, such as fixed and mobile Internet, is forcing firms from a range of industries to come together in so-called 'value networks' for the provision of innovative services. Firms from different industries have widely varying resources. Our analysis is aimed at

  14. Positive Perceptions of Access to Online Library Resources Correlates with Quality and Quantity of Scholarly Publications among Finnish Academics. A Review of: Vakkari, Pertti. “Perceived Influence of the Use of Electronic Information Resources on Scholarly Work and Publication Productivity.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 59.4 (Feb. 15, 2008: 602-12.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott Marsalis

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To investigate the relationship between academics’ use of library electronic resources and their opinions regarding how these resources have impacted their work, and to investigate the association between this perceived influence and publication productivity during the previous two years.Design – Two specific questions added to an annual online user-survey questionnaire; additional data mined from surveySetting – Twenty-two Finnish Universities served by FinELib, the Finnish Electronic Library.Subjects – Seven hundred and sixty seven academic staff and full-time doctoral students.Methods – A questionnaire was posted in April 2007 on FinELib’s homepage and advertised on each university library’s mainpage, and focused on respondents’ experience in the previous two years. Participants selected answers either from a list of category choices, or, when measuring perceptions, by rating agreement with statements along a four-point scale. Controlled variables measured were the respondents’ academic position, their discipline, membership in a research group, whether their literature use was discipline-specific or interdisciplinary, and their perception of the availability online of the relevant core literature. The independent variable measured was the scholars’ perception of the impact of the use of electronic library resources on their work. The dependent variable measured was the scholars’ self-reported publications in the two years preceding the survey.Main Results – Participants reported a positive impact on the efficiency of their work, most strongly in areas of ease of access, with lesser impacts in the range of materials available to them and the ease with which they can keep up-to-date in their field. To a lesser extent, the scholars perceived a positive impact on the quality of their work. Upon analysis, the study found that access to online library resources improved scholars’ work by the interconnected

  15. 78 FR 72878 - Integration of Variable Energy Resources; Notice Of Filing Procedures for Order No. 764...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RM10-11-000] Integration of Variable Energy Resources; Notice Of Filing Procedures for Order No. 764 Electronic Compliance Filings Take... Variable Energy Resources, Order No. 764, FERC Stats. & Regs. ] 31,331, order on reh'g, Order No. 764-A...

  16. Undergraduate students' perception and Utilization of electronic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An evaluation of undergraduate students' perception and utilization of electronic information resources and services was carried out. The population of the study consisted of all registered library users in the 2014/2015 academic session. The total population of the study was 4, 211 registered users. Accidental sampling ...

  17. The fur of mammals in exposed environments; do crypsis and thermal needs necessarily conflict? The polar bear and marsupial koala compared.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Terence J; Webster, Koa N; Maloney, Shane K

    2014-02-01

    The furs of mammals have varied and complex functions. Other than for thermoregulation, fur is involved in physical protection, sensory input, waterproofing and colouration, the latter being important for crypsis or camouflage. Some of these diverse functions potentially conflict. We have investigated how variation in cryptic colouration and thermal features may interact in the coats of mammals and influence potential heat inflows from solar radiation, much of which is outside the visible spectral range. The coats of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and the marsupial koala (Phascolarctus cinereus) have insulative similarities but, while they feature cryptic colouration, they are of contrasting colour, i.e. whitish and dark grey. The reflectance of solar radiation by coats was measured across the full solar spectrum using a spectroradiometer. The modulation of incident solar radiation and resultant heat flows in these coats were determined at a range of wind speeds by mounting them on a heat flux transducer/temperature-controlled plate apparatus in a wind tunnel. A lamp with a spectral distribution of radiation similar to the solar spectrum was used as a proxy for the sun. Crypsis by colour matching was apparent within the visible spectrum for the two species, U. maritimus being matched against snow and P. cinereus against Eucalyptus forest foliage. While reflectances across the full solar spectrum differed markedly, that of U. maritimus being 66 % as opposed to 10 % for P. cinereus, the heat influxes from solar radiation reaching the skin were similar. For both coats at low wind speed (1 m s(-1)), 19 % of incident solar radiation impacted as heat at the skin surface; at higher wind speed (10 m s(-1)) this decreased to approximately 10 %. Ursus maritimus and P. cinereus have high and comparable levels of fur insulation and although the patterns of reflectance and depths of penetrance of solar radiation differ for the coats, the considerable insulation limited the

  18. Daylighting simulation: methods, algorithms, and resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carroll, William L.

    1999-12-01

    This document presents work conducted as part of Subtask C, ''Daylighting Design Tools'', Subgroup C2, ''New Daylight Algorithms'', of the IEA SHC Task 21 and the ECBCS Program Annex 29 ''Daylight in Buildings''. The search for and collection of daylighting analysis methods and algorithms led to two important observations. First, there is a wide range of needs for different types of methods to produce a complete analysis tool. These include: Geometry; Light modeling; Characterization of the natural illumination resource; Materials and components properties, representations; and Usability issues (interfaces, interoperability, representation of analysis results, etc). Second, very advantageously, there have been rapid advances in many basic methods in these areas, due to other forces. They are in part driven by: The commercial computer graphics community (commerce, entertainment); The lighting industry; Architectural rendering and visualization for projects; and Academia: Course materials, research. This has led to a very rich set of information resources that have direct applicability to the small daylighting analysis community. Furthermore, much of this information is in fact available online. Because much of the information about methods and algorithms is now online, an innovative reporting strategy was used: the core formats are electronic, and used to produce a printed form only secondarily. The electronic forms include both online WWW pages and a downloadable .PDF file with the same appearance and content. Both electronic forms include live primary and indirect links to actual information sources on the WWW. In most cases, little additional commentary is provided regarding the information links or citations that are provided. This in turn allows the report to be very concise. The links are expected speak for themselves. The report consists of only about 10+ pages, with about 100+ primary links, but

  19. DESIGNING OF ELECTRONIC LIBRARIES SYSTEM OF SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF APS OF UKRAINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleg M. Spirin

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available In the article the concept of electronic library is considered, preconditions of its designing for the institutions of APS of Ukraine are investigated. The basic components, base services of electronic library and kinds of corresponding resources are defined. It is proved typical decisions for working out of electronic scientifically-educational library of APS of Ukraine.

  20. The management of online resources and long-term saving of electronic documents by transfer into the digital space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Daniel MAREŞ

    2011-12-01

    The electronic archive refers to the electronic storage system, along with the totality of electronic-type stored documents, while using as storage support any environment that can support storing and from which an electronic document can be presented.

  1. Gender differences in students' utilization of electronic information ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study determined gender differences among students in the utilization of electronic information resources in Ramat Library, University of Maiduguri. One objective,with corresponding hypotheses guided the study. The survey research method was used. The population for the study comprised 13,995 (thirteen thousand, ...

  2. Power Electronics Control of Wind Energy in Distributed Power System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iov, Florin; Ciobotaru, Mihai; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2008-01-01

    is to change the electrical power production sources from the conventional, fossil (and short term) based energy sources to renewable energy resources. The other is to use high efficient power electronics in power generation, power transmission/distribution and end-user application. This paper discuss the most...... emerging renewable energy sources, wind energy, which by means of power electronics are changing from being a minor energy source to be acting as an important power source in the energy system. Power electronics is the enabling technology and the presentation will cover the development in wind turbine...... technology from kW to MW, discuss which power electronic solutions are most feasible and used today....

  3. Sustainable polymers from renewable resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yunqing; Romain, Charles; Williams, Charlotte K

    2016-12-14

    Renewable resources are used increasingly in the production of polymers. In particular, monomers such as carbon dioxide, terpenes, vegetable oils and carbohydrates can be used as feedstocks for the manufacture of a variety of sustainable materials and products, including elastomers, plastics, hydrogels, flexible electronics, resins, engineering polymers and composites. Efficient catalysis is required to produce monomers, to facilitate selective polymerizations and to enable recycling or upcycling of waste materials. There are opportunities to use such sustainable polymers in both high-value areas and in basic applications such as packaging. Life-cycle assessment can be used to quantify the environmental benefits of sustainable polymers.

  4. To get or not to get: the KAUST library e-resources acquisition experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.; Kabli, Ola

    2014-01-01

    In the challenging times of budget cuts and reviews, libraries are faced with issues, among others, such as justifying acquisition, negotiating deals and reviewing current subscriptions (pertaining to electronic resources). With the rapid increase

  5. Access to IEEE Electronic Library

    CERN Multimedia

    2007-01-01

    From 2007, the CERN Library now offers readers online access to the complete IEEE Electronic Library (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). This new licence gives unlimited online access to all IEEE and IET (previously IEE) journals and proceedings as well as all current IEEE standards and selected archived ones. Some of the titles offer volumes back to 1913. This service currently represents more than 1,400,000 full-text articles! This leading engineering information resource replaces the previous service, a sub-product of the IEEE database called 'IEEE Enterprise', which offered online access to the complete collection of IEEE journals and proceedings, but with limited features. The service had become so popular that the CERN Working Group for Acquisitions recommended that the Library subscribe to the complete IEEE Electronic Library for 2007. Usage statistics for recent months showed there was a demand for the service from a large community of CERN users and we were aware that many users h...

  6. Sample Development on Java Smart-Card Electronic Wallet Application

    OpenAIRE

    Toma Cristian

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, are highlighted concepts as: complete Java card application, life cycle of an applet, and a practical electronic wallet sample implemented in Java card technology. As a practical approach it would be interesting building applets for ID, Driving License, Health-Insurance smart cards, for encrypt and digitally sign documents, for E-Commerce and for accessing critical resources in government and military field. The end of this article it is presented a java card electronic wallet ...

  7. Multiple choice questions in electronics and electrical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    DAVIES, T J

    2013-01-01

    A unique compendium of over 2000 multiple choice questions for students of electronics and electrical engineering. This book is designed for the following City and Guilds courses: 2010, 2240, 2320, 2360. It can also be used as a resource for practice questions for any vocational course.

  8. Online Resources

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Genetics; Online Resources. Journal of Genetics. Online Resources. Volume 97. 2018 | Online resources. Volume 96. 2017 | Online resources. Volume 95. 2016 | Online resources. Volume 94. 2015 | Online resources. Volume 93. 2014 | Online resources. Volume 92. 2013 | Online resources ...

  9. 77 FR 5581 - Submission for Review: Financial Resources Questionnaire (RI 34-1, RI 34-17) and Notice of Amount...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-03

    ... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Submission for Review: Financial Resources Questionnaire (RI 34- 1... opportunity to comment on a revised information collection request (ICR) 3206-0167, Financial Resources... collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of...

  10. Using a Metro Map Metaphor for organizing Web-based learning resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønbæk, Kaj; Bang, Tove; Hansen, Per Steen

    2002-01-01

    This paper briefly describes the WebNize system and how it applies a Metro Map metaphor for organizing guided tours in Web based resources. Then, experiences in using the Metro Map based tours in a Knowledge Sharing project at the library at Aarhus School of Business (ASB) in Denmark, are discussed...... is to create models for Intelligent Knowledge Solutions that can contribute to form the learning environments of the School in the 21st century. The WebNize system is used for sharing of knowledge through metro maps for specific subject areas made available in the Learning Resource Centre at ASB. The metro....... The Library has been involved in establishing a Learning Resource Center (LRC). The LRC serves as an exploratorium for the development and the testing of new forms of communication and learning, at the same time as it integrates the information resources of the electronic research library. The objective...

  11. The Role of Subtropical Intrusion in the Development of Typhoon Usagi (5W) 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-03-01

    THE MARSUPIAL PARADIGM Summarizing the DMW08 theory, the relevant theoretical paradigm is the formation of a closed proto-vortex or “ embryo ...and begins control its own destiny . By correlating the marsupial analogy for TC formation in this study, we can verify in theory that the remnants...The hurricane embryo . Talk presented at short program workshop entitled Small scale and extreme events: The Hurricane, NSF Institute for Pure and

  12. Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium quarterly technical progress report, August 1, 1997--October 31, 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    This report summarizes activities of the Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium during the quarter. The report describes the Electronic Resource Library; DOE support activities; current and future environmental health and safety programs; pollution prevention and pollution avoidance; communication, education, training, and community involvement programs; and nuclear and other material studies, including plutonium storage and disposition studies.

  13. Students' access usage and awareness of electronic information ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Students' access usage and awareness of electronic information resources at the University College Hospital, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. RA Ojo, SO Akande. Abstract. No Abstract. Lagos Journal of Library and Information Science Vol. 3(1) 2005: 16-24. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD ...

  14. Development of an electronic medical record based alert for risk of HIV treatment failure in a low-resource setting.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nancy Puttkammer

    Full Text Available The adoption of electronic medical record systems in resource-limited settings can help clinicians monitor patients' adherence to HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART and identify patients at risk of future ART failure, allowing resources to be targeted to those most at risk.Among adult patients enrolled on ART from 2005-2013 at two large, public-sector hospitals in Haiti, ART failure was assessed after 6-12 months on treatment, based on the World Health Organization's immunologic and clinical criteria. We identified models for predicting ART failure based on ART adherence measures and other patient characteristics. We assessed performance of candidate models using area under the receiver operating curve, and validated results using a randomly-split data sample. The selected prediction model was used to generate a risk score, and its ability to differentiate ART failure risk over a 42-month follow-up period was tested using stratified Kaplan Meier survival curves.Among 923 patients with CD4 results available during the period 6-12 months after ART initiation, 196 (21.2% met ART failure criteria. The pharmacy-based proportion of days covered (PDC measure performed best among five possible ART adherence measures at predicting ART failure. Average PDC during the first 6 months on ART was 79.0% among cases of ART failure and 88.6% among cases of non-failure (p<0.01. When additional information including sex, baseline CD4, and duration of enrollment in HIV care prior to ART initiation were added to PDC, the risk score differentiated between those who did and did not meet failure criteria over 42 months following ART initiation.Pharmacy data are most useful for new ART adherence alerts within iSanté. Such alerts offer potential to help clinicians identify patients at high risk of ART failure so that they can be targeted with adherence support interventions, before ART failure occurs.

  15. Innovative technologies in course Electrical engineering and electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuznetsov, E. V.; Kiselev, V. I.; Kulikova, E. A.

    2017-11-01

    Department of Electrical Engineering and Nondestructive Testing, NRU “MPEI”, has been working on development Electronic Learning Resources (ELRs) in course Electrical Engineering and Electronics for several years. This work have been focused on education intensification and effectiveness while training bachelors in nonelectrical specializations including students from Thermal and Atomic Power Engineering Institute. The developed ELRs are united in a tutorial module consisting of three parts (Electrical Circuits, Electrical Machines, Basics of Electronics): electronic textbook and workbook (ETW); virtual laboratory sessions (VLS); training sessions (ETS); personal tasks (PT); testing system that contains electronic tests in all course subjects and built-in verification of a student’s work results in ETW, VLS, ETS, PT. The report presents samples of different ELRs in html format and MathCAD, MatLAB Simulink applications, copyrighted programs in Java2, Delphi, VB6, C++. The report also contains the experience description, advantages and disadvantages of the new technologies. It is mentioned that ELRs provide new opportunities in course studying.

  16. Power Electronics for Renewable Energy Systems - Status and Trends

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blaabjerg, Frede; Ma, Ke; Yang, Yongheng

    2014-01-01

    electronics in generation, transmission/distribution and end-user application, together with advanced controls, can pave the way for renewable energy resources. In view of this, some of the most promising renewable candidates like wind power and photovoltaic, which are becoming a significant part...... in the electricity production, are explored in this paper. Issues like technology demands, power converter topologies, and control structures are addressed. Some special focuses are also paid on the emerging trends in power electronics development for those systems....

  17. An evaluation of learning resources in the teaching of formal philosophical methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan A.J. Stuart

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available In any discipline, across a wide variety of subjects, there are numerous learning resources available to students. For many students the resources that will be most beneficial to them are quickly apparent but, because of the nature of philosophy and the philosophical method, it is not immediately clear which resources will be most valuable to students for whom the development of critical thinking skills is crucial. If we are to support these students effectively in their learning we must establish what these resources are how we can continue to maintain and improve them, and how we can encourage students to make good use of them. In this paper we describe and assess our evaluation of the use made by students of learning resources in the context of learning logic and in developing their critical thinking skills. We also assess the use of a new resource, electronic handsets, the purpose of which is to encourage students to respond to questions in lectures and to gain feedback about how they are progressing with the material.

  18. Advanced Power Electronics Interfaces for Distributed Energy Workshop Summary: August 24, 2006, Sacramento, California

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Treanton, B.; Palomo, J.; Kroposki, B.; Thomas, H.

    2006-10-01

    The Advanced Power Electronics Interfaces for Distributed Energy Workshop, sponsored by the California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research program and organized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was held Aug. 24, 2006, in Sacramento, Calif. The workshop provided a forum for industry stakeholders to share their knowledge and experience about technologies, manufacturing approaches, markets, and issues in power electronics for a range of distributed energy resources. It focused on the development of advanced power electronic interfaces for distributed energy applications and included discussions of modular power electronics, component manufacturing, and power electronic applications.

  19. Phylogenetic differences of mammalian basal metabolic rate are not explained by mitochondrial basal proton leak.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polymeropoulos, E T; Heldmaier, G; Frappell, P B; McAllan, B M; Withers, K W; Klingenspor, M; White, C R; Jastroch, M

    2012-01-07

    Metabolic rates of mammals presumably increased during the evolution of endothermy, but molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying basal metabolic rate (BMR) are still not understood. It has been established that mitochondrial basal proton leak contributes significantly to BMR. Comparative studies among a diversity of eutherian mammals showed that BMR correlates with body mass and proton leak. Here, we studied BMR and mitochondrial basal proton leak in liver of various marsupial species. Surprisingly, we found that the mitochondrial proton leak was greater in marsupials than in eutherians, although marsupials have lower BMRs. To verify our finding, we kept similar-sized individuals of a marsupial opossum (Monodelphis domestica) and a eutherian rodent (Mesocricetus auratus) species under identical conditions, and directly compared BMR and basal proton leak. We confirmed an approximately 40 per cent lower mass specific BMR in the opossum although its proton leak was significantly higher (approx. 60%). We demonstrate that the increase in BMR during eutherian evolution is not based on a general increase in the mitochondrial proton leak, although there is a similar allometric relationship of proton leak and BMR within mammalian groups. The difference in proton leak between endothermic groups may assist in elucidating distinct metabolic and habitat requirements that have evolved during mammalian divergence.

  20. Noninvasive treatment choice for an aged down syndrome patient presenting a residual periapical cyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sperandio, Felipe Fornias; Carli, Marina Lara de; Guimaräes, Eduardo Pereira; Pereira, Alessandro Antônio Costa; Hanemann, Joäo Adolfo Costa

    2014-03-01

    This is the first report to illustrate the marsupialization as an effective treatment for a Down Syndrome (DS) patient presenting a residual periapical cyst. These cysts occur within the alveolar ridge, usually at the local site of a previously extracted tooth that did not received proper curettage; usually the surgical excision of a cyst and also the vigorous curettage of a socket is very simple, if not for the fact that mentally disabled patients require rapid and non-stressful procedures. The 54-year-old DS patient represented herein received a minimally invasive marsupialization under local anesthesia. Due to the large extent of the lesion, the acrylic resin drain was maintained for 30 days. Through the following period, a daily irrigation of the cystic cavity with saline solution was carried out to prevent a secondary infection within the cystic cavity. A follow-up of 16 months showed no signs of recurrence. Marsupialization of residual periapical cyst is completely effective and safe, even for a DS patient that is considered to be at an advanced age. Marsupialization poses as a minimally invasive choice for mentally disabled patients, even when presenting advanced ages; treatment success was stated by the easy clinical conduct, uneventful postoperative situation and the lack of recurrence along 16 months of follow-up.

  1. PERii electronic journals: Assessing access and use by ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper is based on the findings of a study that assessed the awareness of Programme for Enhancement of Resources Initiative (PERii) electronic journals, their use and challenges encountered by postgraduate students. The study was carried out at the University of Dar es Salaam and involved postgraduate students in ...

  2. 76 FR 50770 - Submission for Review: Financial Resources Questionnaire (RI 34-1, RI 34-17, and RI 34-18) and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-16

    ... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Submission for Review: Financial Resources Questionnaire (RI 34- 1...) 3206-0167, Financial Resources Questionnaire and Notice of Amount Due Because of Annuity Overpayment... techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses...

  3. Current Solutions: Recent Experience in Interconnecting Distributed Energy Resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, M.

    2003-09-01

    This report catalogues selected real-world technical experiences of utilities and customers that have interconnected distributed energy assets with the electric grid. This study was initiated to assess the actual technical practices for interconnecting distributed generation and had a particular focus on the technical issues covered under the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1547(TM) Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources With Electric Power Systems.

  4. Environmental scan and evaluation of best practices for online systematic review resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Robin M N; Boulos, Leah M; Visintini, Sarah; Ritchie, Krista; Hayden, Jill

    2018-04-01

    Online training for systematic review methodology is an attractive option due to flexibility and limited availability of in-person instruction. Librarians often direct new reviewers to these online resources, so they should be knowledgeable about the variety of available resources. The objective for this project was to conduct an environmental scan of online systematic review training resources and evaluate those identified resources. The authors systematically searched for electronic learning resources pertaining to systematic review methods. After screening for inclusion, we collected data about characteristics of training resources and assigned scores in the domains of (1) content, (2) design, (3) interactivity, and (4) usability by applying a previously published evaluation rubric for online instruction modules. We described the characteristics and scores for each training resource and compared performance across the domains. Twenty training resources were evaluated. Average overall score of online instructional resources was 61%. Online courses (n=7) averaged 73%, web modules (n=5) 64%, and videos (n=8) 48%. The top 5 highest scoring resources were in course or web module format, featured high interactivity, and required a longer (>5hrs) time commitment from users. This study revealed that resources include appropriate content but are less likely to adhere to principles of online training design and interactivity. Awareness of these resources will allow librarians to make informed recommendations for training based on patrons' needs. Future online systematic review training resources should use established best practices for e-learning to provide high-quality resources, regardless of format or user time commitment.

  5. Barriers in communication and available resources to facilitate conversation about infertility with girls diagnosed with Turner syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Jessica E; Plamondon, Jenna; Counts, Debra; Laney, Dawn; Dixon, Shannan DeLany

    2016-02-01

    Delayed discussion about infertility with individuals affected by Turner syndrome (TS) has been found to result in psychological and social harm. The aim of this study was to identify barriers experienced when discussing infertility and determine resource types that may facilitate this conversation. An electronic survey, given to caregivers of girls with TS diagnosed at barriers in having the conversation. Although most individuals did not use resources to facilitate the conversation, they did express interest in additional resources.

  6. Resource selection for an interdisciplinary field: a methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacoby, Beth E; Murray, Jane; Alterman, Ina; Welbourne, Penny

    2002-10-01

    The Health Sciences and Human Services Library of the University of Maryland developed and implemented a methodology to evaluate print and digital resources for social work. Although this methodology was devised for the interdisciplinary field of social work, the authors believe it may lend itself to resource selection in other interdisciplinary fields. The methodology was developed in response to the results of two separate surveys conducted in late 1999, which indicated improvement was needed in the library's graduate-level social work collections. Library liaisons evaluated the print collection by identifying forty-five locally relevant Library of Congress subject headings and then using these subjects or synonymous terms to compare the library's titles to collections of peer institutions, publisher catalogs, and Amazon.com. The collection also was compared to social work association bibliographies, ISI Journal Citation Reports, and major social work citation databases. An approval plan for social work books was set up to assist in identifying newly published titles. The library acquired new print and digital social work resources as a result of the evaluation, thus improving both print and digital collections for its social work constituents. Visibility of digital resources was increased by cataloging individual titles in aggregated electronic journal packages and listing each title on the library Web page.

  7. Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project: water-resources activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robson, Stanley G.; Heiny, Janet S.

    1998-01-01

    Infrastructure, such as roads, buildings, airports, and dams, is built and maintained by use of large quantities of natural resources such as aggregate (sand and gravel), energy, and water. As urban area expand, local sources of these resource are becoming inaccessible (gravel cannot be mined from under a subdivision, for example), or the cost of recovery of the resource becomes prohibitive (oil and gas drilling in urban areas is costly), or the resources may become unfit for some use (pollution of ground water may preclude its use as a water supply). Governmental land-use decision and environmental mandates can further preclude development of natural resources. If infrastructure resources are to remain economically available. current resource information must be available for use in well-reasoned decisions bout future land use. Ground water is an infrastructure resource that is present in shallow aquifers and deeper bedrock aquifers that underlie much of the 2,450-square-mile demonstration area of the Colorado Front Range Infrastructure Resources Project. In 1996, mapping of the area's ground-water resources was undertaken as a U.S. Geological Survey project in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

  8. Application of electron accelerator for thin film in Indonesia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Danu, Sugiarto; Darsono, Dadang

    2004-01-01

    Electron accelerator is widely used for the crosslinking of wire and cable insulation, the treatment of heat shrinkable products, precuring of tire components, and the sterilization of medical products. Research and development the use of electron accelerator for thin film in Indonesia covered radiation curing of surface coating, crosslinking of poly (butylenes succinate), crosslinking of wire, cable and heat shrinkable, sterilization of wound dressing, and prevulcanization of tire. In general, comparing with conventional method, electron beam processing have some advantages, such as, less energy consumption, much higher production rate, processing ability at ambient temperature and environmental friendly. Indonesia has a great potential to develop the application of electron accelerator, due to the remarkable growth industrial sector, the abundant of natural resources and the increasing demand of the high quality products. This paper describes the activities concerning with R and D, and application of electron accelerator for processing of thin film. (author)

  9. Electronic Rubrics to Assess Competences in ICT Subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivas, Manuela Raposo; De La Serna, Manuel Cebrian; Martinez-Figueira, Esther

    2014-01-01

    Helping students to acquire specific competences is nowadays one of the basic pillars of university teaching; therefore its evaluation and accreditation is of key importance. As of late, rubrics and in particular electronic rubrics (e-rubrics) have become an important resource to assess competences and guide students in their learning processes.…

  10. Concierge: Personal database software for managing digital research resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroyuki Sakai

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available This article introduces a desktop application, named Concierge, for managing personal digital research resources. Using simple operations, it enables storage of various types of files and indexes them based on content descriptions. A key feature of the software is a high level of extensibility. By installing optional plug-ins, users can customize and extend the usability of the software based on their needs. In this paper, we also introduce a few optional plug-ins: literaturemanagement, electronic laboratory notebook, and XooNlps client plug-ins. XooNIps is a content management system developed to share digital research resources among neuroscience communities. It has been adopted as the standard database system in Japanese neuroinformatics projects. Concierge, therefore, offers comprehensive support from management of personal digital research resources to their sharing in open-access neuroinformatics databases such as XooNIps. This interaction between personal and open-access neuroinformatics databases is expected to enhance the dissemination of digital research resources. Concierge is developed as an open source project; Mac OS X and Windows XP versions have been released at the official site (http://concierge.sourceforge.jp.

  11. Awareness and use of the Essential Electronic Agricultural Library ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study investigated the extent of awareness and use of The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) resources by faculty members of Federal University, Kashere and Federal College of Education (Technical) Gombe. A survey design was adopted for the study. The questionnaire was used as data collection ...

  12. Developing and managing electronic collections the essentials

    CERN Document Server

    Johnson, Peggy

    2014-01-01

    The complex issues associated with developing and managing electronic collections deserve special treatment, and library collection authority Peggy Johnson rises to the challenge with a book sure to become a benchmark for excellence. Providing comprehensive coverage of key issues and decision points, she offers advice on best practices for developing and managing these important resources for libraries of all types and sizes.

  13. Free Access to Point of Care Resource Results in Increased Use and Satisfaction by Rural Healthcare Providers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindsay Alcock

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available A Review of: Eldredge, J. D., Hall, L. J., McElfresh, K. R., Warner, T. D., Stromberg, T. L., Trost, J. T., & Jelinek, D. A. (2016. Rural providers’ access to online resources: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 104(1, 33-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.104.1.005 Objective – To determine whether free access to the point of care (PoC resource Dynamed or the electronic book collection AccessMedicine was more useful to rural health care providers in answering clinical questions in terms of usage and satisfaction. Design – Randomized controlled trial. Setting – Rural New Mexico. Subjects – Twenty-eight health care providers (physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists with no reported access to PoC resources, (specifically Dynamed and AccessMedicine or electronic textbook collections prior to enrollment.

  14. Power electronics for renewable and distributed energy systems a sourcebook of topologies, control and integration

    CERN Document Server

    Chakraborty, Sudipta; Kramer, William E

    2013-01-01

    While most books approach power electronics and renewable energy as two separate subjects, Power Electronics for Renewable and Distributed Energy Systems takes an integrative approach; discussing power electronic converters topologies, controls and integration that are specific to the renewable and distributed energy system applications. An overview of power electronic technologies is followed by the introduction of various renewable and distributed energy resources that includes photovoltaics, wind, small hydroelectric, fuel cells, microturbines and variable speed generation. Energy storage s

  15. Electronic Grey Literature in Accelerator Science and Its Allied Subjects : Selected Web Resources for Scientists and Engineers

    CERN Document Server

    Rajendiran, P

    2006-01-01

    Grey literature Web resources in the field of accelerator science and its allied subjects are collected for the scientists and engineers of RRCAT (Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology). For definition purposes the different types of grey literature are described. The Web resources collected and compiled in this article (with an overview and link for each) specifically focus on technical reports, preprints or e-prints, which meet the main information needs of RRCAT users.

  16. Ranking Medical Terms to Support Expansion of Lay Language Resources for Patient Comprehension of Electronic Health Record Notes: Adapted Distant Supervision Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jinying; Jagannatha, Abhyuday N; Fodeh, Samah J; Yu, Hong

    2017-10-31

    Medical terms are a major obstacle for patients to comprehend their electronic health record (EHR) notes. Clinical natural language processing (NLP) systems that link EHR terms to lay terms or definitions allow patients to easily access helpful information when reading through their EHR notes, and have shown to improve patient EHR comprehension. However, high-quality lay language resources for EHR terms are very limited in the public domain. Because expanding and curating such a resource is a costly process, it is beneficial and even necessary to identify terms important for patient EHR comprehension first. We aimed to develop an NLP system, called adapted distant supervision (ADS), to rank candidate terms mined from EHR corpora. We will give EHR terms ranked as high by ADS a higher priority for lay language annotation-that is, creating lay definitions for these terms. Adapted distant supervision uses distant supervision from consumer health vocabulary and transfer learning to adapt itself to solve the problem of ranking EHR terms in the target domain. We investigated 2 state-of-the-art transfer learning algorithms (ie, feature space augmentation and supervised distant supervision) and designed 5 types of learning features, including distributed word representations learned from large EHR data for ADS. For evaluating ADS, we asked domain experts to annotate 6038 candidate terms as important or nonimportant for EHR comprehension. We then randomly divided these data into the target-domain training data (1000 examples) and the evaluation data (5038 examples). We compared ADS with 2 strong baselines, including standard supervised learning, on the evaluation data. The ADS system using feature space augmentation achieved the best average precision, 0.850, on the evaluation set when using 1000 target-domain training examples. The ADS system using supervised distant supervision achieved the best average precision, 0.819, on the evaluation set when using only 100 target

  17. An assessment of student experiences and learning based on a novel undergraduate e-learning resource.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, S; Clarke, F; Fleming, P S

    2016-08-12

    Purpose/objectives The aims of this study were to describe the development of a novel e-learning resource and to assess its impact on student learning experiences and orthodontic knowledge.Methods Thirty-two 4th year dental undergraduate students at Queen Mary University of London were randomly allocated to receive electronic access to e-learning material covering various undergraduate orthodontic topics over a 6-week period. Thirty-one control students were not given access during the study period. All students were asked to complete electronic quizzes both before (T0) and after (T1) the study period and a general questionnaire concerning familiarity with e-learning. The test group also completed a user satisfaction questionnaire at T1. Two focus groups were also undertaken to explore learners' experiences and suggestions in relation to the resource.Results The mean quiz result improved by 3.9% and 4.5% in the control and test groups, respectively. An independent t-test, however, demonstrated a lack of statistical significance in knowledge gain between control and test groups (P = 0.941). The qualitative feedback indicated that students believed that use of the resource enhanced knowledge and basic understanding with students expressing a wish to ingrain similar resources in other areas of undergraduate teaching.Conclusions Use of the novel orthodontic e-resource by 4th year undergraduate students over a 6-week period did not result in a significant improvement in subject knowledge. However, the e-learning has proven popular among undergraduates and the resources will continue to be refined.

  18. Electronic Health Record Implementation: A SWOT Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahmoradi, Leila; Darrudi, Alireza; Arji, Goli; Farzaneh Nejad, Ahmadreza

    2017-10-01

    Electronic Health Record (EHR) is one of the most important achievements of information technology in healthcare domain, and if deployed effectively, it can yield predominant results. The aim of this study was a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis in electronic health record implementation. This is a descriptive, analytical study conducted with the participation of a 90-member work force from Hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). The data were collected by using a self-structured questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS software. Based on the results, the highest priority in strength analysis was related to timely and quick access to information. However, lack of hardware and infrastructures was the most important weakness. Having the potential to share information between different sectors and access to a variety of health statistics was the significant opportunity of EHR. Finally, the most substantial threats were the lack of strategic planning in the field of electronic health records together with physicians' and other clinical staff's resistance in the use of electronic health records. To facilitate successful adoption of electronic health record, some organizational, technical and resource elements contribute; moreover, the consideration of these factors is essential for HER implementation.

  19. Internet and electronic resources for inflammatory bowel disease: a primer for providers and patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortinsky, Kyle J; Fournier, Marc R; Benchimol, Eric I

    2012-06-01

    Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are increasingly turning to the Internet to research their condition and engage in discourse on their experiences. This has resulted in new dynamics in the relationship between providers and their patients, with misinformation and advertising potentially presenting barriers to the cooperative patient-provider partnership. This article addresses important issues of online IBD-related health information and social media activity, such as quality, reliability, objectivity, and privacy. We reviewed the medical literature on the quality of online information provided to IBD patients, and summarized the most commonly accessed Websites related to IBD. We also assessed the activity on popular social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), and evaluated currently available applications for use by IBD patients and providers on mobile phones and tablets. Through our review of the literature and currently available resources, we developed a list of recommended online resources to strengthen patient participation in their care by providing reliable, comprehensive educational material. Copyright © 2011 Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, Inc.

  20. Mammalian diversity: gametes, embryos and reproduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behringer, Richard R; Eakin, Guy S; Renfree, Marilyn B

    2006-01-01

    The class Mammalia is composed of approximately 4800 extant species. These mammalian species are divided into three subclasses that include the monotremes, marsupials and eutherians. Monotremes are remarkable because these mammals are born from eggs laid outside of the mother's body. Marsupial mammals have relatively short gestation periods and give birth to highly altricial young that continue a significant amount of 'fetal' development after birth, supported by a highly sophisticated lactation. Less than 10% of mammalian species are monotremes or marsupials, so the great majority of mammals are grouped into the subclass Eutheria, including mouse and human. Mammals exhibit great variety in morphology, physiology and reproduction. In the present article, we highlight some of this remarkable diversity relative to the mouse, one of the most widely used mammalian model organisms, and human. This diversity creates challenges and opportunities for gamete and embryo collection, culture and transfer technologies.

  1. On-line monitoring of food fermentation processes using electronic noses and electronic tongues: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peris, Miguel; Escuder-Gilabert, Laura

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •This review paper deals with the applications of electronic noses and electronic tongues to the monitoring of fermentation processes. •Positive and negative aspects of the different approaches reviewed are analyzed. •Current and future endeavors in this field are also commented. -- Abstract: Fermentation processes are often sensitive to even slight changes of conditions that may result in unacceptable end-product quality. Thus, close follow-up of this type of processes is critical for detecting unfavorable deviations as early as possible in order to save downtime, materials and resources. Nevertheless the use of traditional analytical techniques is often hindered by the need for expensive instrumentation and experienced operators and complex sample preparation. In this sense, one of the most promising ways of developing rapid and relatively inexpensive methods for quality control in fermentation processes is the use of chemical multisensor systems. In this work we present an overview of the most important contributions dealing with the monitoring of fermentation processes using electronic noses and electronic tongues. After a brief description of the fundamentals of both types of devices, the different approaches are critically commented, their strengths and weaknesses being highlighted. Finally, future trends in this field are also mentioned in the last section of the article

  2. On-line monitoring of food fermentation processes using electronic noses and electronic tongues: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peris, Miguel, E-mail: mperist@qim.upv.es [Departamento de Química, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, 46071 Valencia (Spain); Escuder-Gilabert, Laura [Departamento de Química Analítica, Universitat de Valencia, C/ Vicente Andrés Estellés s/n, E-46100 Burjasot, Valencia (Spain)

    2013-12-04

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •This review paper deals with the applications of electronic noses and electronic tongues to the monitoring of fermentation processes. •Positive and negative aspects of the different approaches reviewed are analyzed. •Current and future endeavors in this field are also commented. -- Abstract: Fermentation processes are often sensitive to even slight changes of conditions that may result in unacceptable end-product quality. Thus, close follow-up of this type of processes is critical for detecting unfavorable deviations as early as possible in order to save downtime, materials and resources. Nevertheless the use of traditional analytical techniques is often hindered by the need for expensive instrumentation and experienced operators and complex sample preparation. In this sense, one of the most promising ways of developing rapid and relatively inexpensive methods for quality control in fermentation processes is the use of chemical multisensor systems. In this work we present an overview of the most important contributions dealing with the monitoring of fermentation processes using electronic noses and electronic tongues. After a brief description of the fundamentals of both types of devices, the different approaches are critically commented, their strengths and weaknesses being highlighted. Finally, future trends in this field are also mentioned in the last section of the article.

  3. Main Issues on Electronic Commerce and Policy Recommendations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chongwha Lee

    1998-03-01

    Full Text Available "Electronic Commerce" means that people sell and buy commodity, labor service and information through internet and now is mainly be used in commercial intercourse. The core of the international research related to Electronic Commerce is a tax-exemption, land tax, liberalization of encrypted technology and privacy protection policy, etc. Meanwhile, intellectual property, consumer protection and limitation of packing specification are also researched together with the business activeness. The reason why questions related to Electronic Commerce are in the back of the spotlight is that US and major countries in EU lead the international research to maximize their own benefits. These researches are related to rectify legal system framework for protecting development of Electronic Commerce and to work out international standards. Also, enlarging Electronic Commerce on online resources is also regarded as the core issue by OECD, APEC and other international organization and it is inevitable to have multilateral negotiation regarding this issue. Based on the opinion above mentioned, we collect all the problems brought by Electronic Commerce Activeness in each area in this paper and try to find out corresponding solutions to face these problems.

  4. New York State Forum for Information Resource Management: 1998-1999 Annual Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    New York State Forum for Information Resource Management.

    This annual report of the New York State Forum for Information Resource Management begins with a section that summarizes key activities for 1998-99, including partnerships with other organizations, sessions on the use of information in government and information security, programs on the challenges of electronic commerce for government,…

  5. Gambling revenues as a public administration issue: electronic gaming machines in Victoria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickernell, David; Keast, Robyn; Brown, Kerry; Yousefpour, Nina; Miller, Chris

    2013-12-01

    Gambling activities and the revenues derived have been seen as a way to increase economic development in deprived areas. There are also, however, concerns about the effects of gambling in general and electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in particular, on the resources available to the localities in which they are situated. This paper focuses on the factors that determine the extent and spending of community benefit-related EGM-generated resources within Victoria, Australia, focusing in particular on the relationships between EGM activity and socio-economic and social capital indicators, and how this relates to the community benefit resources generated by gaming.

  6. Innovative direct energy conversion systems using electronic adiabatic processes of electron fluid in solid conductors: new plants of electrical power and hydrogen gas resources without environmental pollutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kondoh, Y.; Kondo, M.; Shimoda, K.; Takahashi, T.

    2001-07-01

    It is shown that using a novel recycling process of the environmental thermal energy, innovative permanent auto-working direct energy converter systems (PA-DEC systems) from the environmental thermal to electrical and/or chemical potential (TE/CP) energies, abbreviated as PA-TE/CP-DEC systems, can be used for new auto-working electrical power plants and the plants of the compressible and conveyable hydrogen gas resources at various regions in the whole world, with contributions to the world peace and the economical development in the south part of the world. It is shown that the same physical mechanism by free electrons and electrical potential determined by temperature in conductors, which include semiconductors, leads to the Peltier effect and the Seebeck one. It is experimentally clarified that the long distance separation between two π type elements of the heat absorption (HAS) and the production one (HPS) of the Peltier effect circuit system or between the higher temperature side (HTS) and the lower one (LTS) of the Seebeck effect circuit one does not change in the whole for the both effects. By using present systems, we do not need to use petrified fuels such as coals, oils, and natural gases in order to decrease the greenhouse effect by the CO 2 surrounding the earth. Furthermore, we do not need plats of nuclear fissions that left radiating wastes, i.e., with no environmental pollutions. The PA-TE/CP-DEC systems can be applicable for several km scale systems to the micro ones, such as the plants of the electrical power, the compact transportable hydrogen gas resources, a large heat energy container, which can be settled at far place from thermal energy absorbing area, the refrigerators, the air conditioners, home electrical apparatuses, and further the computer elements. It is shown that the simplest PA-TE/CP-DEC system can be established by using only the Seebeck effect components and the resolving water ones. It is clarified that the externally applied

  7. Use of online knowledge resources by prominent South African researchers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reinhold Treptow

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The growth in online knowledge resources has transformed information securing practices and effects have been especially pronounced for scientific journals. It has therefore become increasingly necessary to understand researchers’ information search and securing preferences. Leading South African researchers were indentified and invited to participate in a web- based survey to this end. Results indicate that electronic resources are favoured for journal articles, but not for books, and researchers commonly employ chaining and browsing behaviour to locate relevant journal articles. Full-text journals are favoured by researchers to undertake searches. These are favoured over other bibliographic databases and other federated searches (Google, Google Scholar and MetaLib. Analyses of the coverage of top rated journals by the two top rated full- text databases EBSCOhost and ScienceDirect reveals significantly lower coverage when compared with the coverage of top journals by the citation databases Scopus and Web of Science. Researchers should therefore make greater use of these resources to effectively locate relevant material.

  8. 研究/電子資源使用統計標準與規範之探討/陳雪華;許嘉珍;朱雅琦 | Study of the Electronic Resources Usage Statistics Standards and Guidelines/ Hsueh-Hua Chen;Chia-Chen Hsu;Ya-Chi Chu

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    陳雪華、許嘉珍、朱雅琦

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available

    近年來,由於資訊科技的進步,圖書館中的電子資源數量快速增加,所佔預算金額比例也大幅增長。圖書館希望能夠透過評鑑電子資源的使用,以便能夠在電 子資源館藏發展等方面做出正確的決策。由於體認到電子資源使用統計之重要性,圖書館界與相關組織紛紛發展或修訂圖書館統計標準,增列電子資源使用統計的項 目以充分反映圖書館電子資源使用之狀況。本文主要採用文獻分析法以及內容分析法,收集探討並比較近軍來國內外電子資源使用統計之相關規範及標準,包含 ISO 2789、 ICOLC Guidelines、州ANSI/NISO Z39.7、CNS13151、ARL E-Metrlcs、E-Measures Project、以及Project COUNTER等。

    Recently, due to the advances of information technology, electronic resources are gradually replacing print resources as the largest consumer of library acquisition budgets. Logically, libraries want to evaluate the usage of electronic resources and incorporate the results into their decision making regarding electronic resource acquisition. Over these years, there is a general awareness among libraries to develop statistics standards and guidelines for library electronic resources usage. In this paper, literature review and content analysis methods are used to compare several library statistics standards, including: ISO 2789 、ICOLC Guidelines、ANSI/NISO Z39.7、CNS13151、ARL E-Metrics、E-Measures Project、and Project COUNTER etc.

    頁次:89-102

  9. Improving CASINO performance for models with large number of electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anton, L.; Alfe, D.; Hood, R.Q.; Tanqueray, D.

    2009-01-01

    Quantum Monte Carlo calculations have at their core algorithms based on statistical ensembles of multidimensional random walkers which are straightforward to use on parallel computers. Nevertheless some computations have reached the limit of the memory resources for models with more than 1000 electrons because of the need to store a large amount of electronic orbitals related data. Besides that, for systems with large number of electrons, it is interesting to study if the evolution of one configuration of random walkers can be done faster in parallel. We present a comparative study of two ways to solve these problems: (1) distributed orbital data done with MPI or Unix inter-process communication tools, (2) second level parallelism for configuration computation

  10. Resource programs: Draft Environmental Impact Statement Resource Programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-03-01

    Every two years, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) prepares a Resource Program which identifies the resource actions BPA will take to meet its obligation to serve the forecasted power requirements of its customers. The Resource Program's Environmental Impact Statement (RPEIS) is a programmatic environmental document which will support decisions made in several future Resource Programs. Environmental documents tiered to the EIS may be prepared on a site-specific basis. The RPEIS includes a description of the environmental effects and mitigation for the various resource types available in order to evaluate the trade-offs among them. It also assesses the environmental impacts of adding thirteen alternative combinations of resources to the existing power system. This report contains the appendices to the RPEIS

  11. Utilization and impact of electronic and print media on the patients’ health status: Physicians’ perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadia Shakeel

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims: Despite an increased popularity of print and electronic media applications, there is a paucity of data reflecting doctors’ opinions regarding efficient utilization of these resources for the betterment of public health. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the perception of physicians toward the effect of electronic and print media on the health status of patients. Setting and Design: The current research is a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2015 to July 2015. The study population comprised physicians rendering their services in different hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan, selected by the nonprobability convenience sampling technique. In this study, 500 questionnaires were distributed through email or direct correspondence. Methods and Materials: Physicians’ perception toward the impact of electronic and print media on the health status of patients was assessed with a 20-item questionnaire. Different demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, institution, position, and experience of respondents, were recorded. Quantitative data were analyzed with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 20.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL. The association of the demographic characteristics of the responses of physicians was determined by one-way ANOVA using 0.05 level of significance. Results: In this study, 254 physicians provided consent to show their responses for research purposes. A response rate of 50.8% was obtained. Nearly one-third of the respondents negated that patients get health benefit using electronic and print media. The majority did not consider electronic and print media as lifestyle-modifying factors. Physicians thought that patients particularly do not rely on mass media for acquiring health information and consider healthcare professionals as unswerving information resource. Conclusions: Mass media can be productive resources to augment awareness among patients, although physicians seem unconvinced about

  12. Utilization and Impact of Electronic and Print Media on the Patients' Health Status: Physicians' Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shakeel, Sadia; Nesar, Shagufta; Rahim, Najia; Iffat, Wajiha; Ahmed, Hafiza Fouzia; Rizvi, Mehwish; Jamshed, Shazia

    2017-01-01

    Despite an increased popularity of print and electronic media applications, there is a paucity of data reflecting doctors' opinions regarding efficient utilization of these resources for the betterment of public health. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the perception of physicians toward the effect of electronic and print media on the health status of patients. The current research is a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2015 to July 2015. The study population comprised physicians rendering their services in different hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan, selected by the nonprobability convenience sampling technique. In this study, 500 questionnaires were distributed through email or direct correspondence. Physicians' perception toward the impact of electronic and print media on the health status of patients was assessed with a 20-item questionnaire. Different demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, institution, position, and experience of respondents, were recorded. Quantitative data were analyzed with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 20.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL). The association of the demographic characteristics of the responses of physicians was determined by one-way ANOVA using 0.05 level of significance. In this study, 254 physicians provided consent to show their responses for research purposes. A response rate of 50.8% was obtained. Nearly one-third of the respondents negated that patients get health benefit using electronic and print media. The majority did not consider electronic and print media as lifestyle-modifying factors. Physicians thought that patients particularly do not rely on mass media for acquiring health information and consider healthcare professionals as unswerving information resource. Mass media can be productive resources to augment awareness among patients, although physicians seem unconvinced about the extended usage of print/electronic media.

  13. Developing open source, self-contained disease surveillance software applications for use in resource-limited settings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Campbell Timothy C

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Emerging public health threats often originate in resource-limited countries. In recognition of this fact, the World Health Organization issued revised International Health Regulations in 2005, which call for significantly increased reporting and response capabilities for all signatory nations. Electronic biosurveillance systems can improve the timeliness of public health data collection, aid in the early detection of and response to disease outbreaks, and enhance situational awareness. Methods As components of its Suite for Automated Global bioSurveillance (SAGES program, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory developed two open-source, electronic biosurveillance systems for use in resource-limited settings. OpenESSENCE provides web-based data entry, analysis, and reporting. ESSENCE Desktop Edition provides similar capabilities for settings without internet access. Both systems may be configured to collect data using locally available cell phone technologies. Results ESSENCE Desktop Edition has been deployed for two years in the Republic of the Philippines. Local health clinics have rapidly adopted the new technology to provide daily reporting, thus eliminating the two-to-three week data lag of the previous paper-based system. Conclusions OpenESSENCE and ESSENCE Desktop Edition are two open-source software products with the capability of significantly improving disease surveillance in a wide range of resource-limited settings. These products, and other emerging surveillance technologies, can assist resource-limited countries compliance with the revised International Health Regulations.

  14. Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium quarterly technical progress report, August 1--October 31, 1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-11-01

    This paper describes activities of the Center under the following topical sections: Electronic resource library; Environmental restoration and protection; Health and safety; Waste management; Communication program; Education program; Training; Analytical development; Materials science; Plutonium processing and handling; and Storage.

  15. Navigating 3D electron microscopy maps with EM-SURFER.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esquivel-Rodríguez, Juan; Xiong, Yi; Han, Xusi; Guang, Shuomeng; Christoffer, Charles; Kihara, Daisuke

    2015-05-30

    The Electron Microscopy DataBank (EMDB) is growing rapidly, accumulating biological structural data obtained mainly by electron microscopy and tomography, which are emerging techniques for determining large biomolecular complex and subcellular structures. Together with the Protein Data Bank (PDB), EMDB is becoming a fundamental resource of the tertiary structures of biological macromolecules. To take full advantage of this indispensable resource, the ability to search the database by structural similarity is essential. However, unlike high-resolution structures stored in PDB, methods for comparing low-resolution electron microscopy (EM) density maps in EMDB are not well established. We developed a computational method for efficiently searching low-resolution EM maps. The method uses a compact fingerprint representation of EM maps based on the 3D Zernike descriptor, which is derived from a mathematical series expansion for EM maps that are considered as 3D functions. The method is implemented in a web server named EM-SURFER, which allows users to search against the entire EMDB in real-time. EM-SURFER compares the global shapes of EM maps. Examples of search results from different types of query structures are discussed. We developed EM-SURFER, which retrieves structurally relevant matches for query EM maps from EMDB within seconds. The unique capability of EM-SURFER to detect 3D shape similarity of low-resolution EM maps should prove invaluable in structural biology.

  16. Electronic Health Record Implementation: A SWOT Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leila Shahmoradi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Electronic Health Record (EHR is one of the most important achievements of information technology in healthcare domain, and if deployed effectively, it can yield predominant results. The aim of this study was a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis in electronic health record implementation. This is a descriptive, analytical study conducted with the participation of a 90-member work force from Hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS. The data were collected by using a self-structured questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS software. Based on the results, the highest priority in strength analysis was related to timely and quick access to information. However, lack of hardware and infrastructures was the most important weakness. Having the potential to share information between different sectors and access to a variety of health statistics was the significant opportunity of EHR. Finally, the most substantial threats were the lack of strategic planning in the field of electronic health records together with physicians’ and other clinical staff’s resistance in the use of electronic health records. To facilitate successful adoption of electronic health record, some organizational, technical and resource elements contribute; moreover, the consideration of these factors is essential for HER implementation.

  17. Electronic pay and leave statements (e-Payslips)

    CERN Document Server

    2004-01-01

    Within the framework of measures to simplify and rationalise administrative procedures, the FI and IT Departments proposed a project to introduce electronic pay and leave statements. The project was launched at the beginning of 2004 after it had been approved by the Director of the Finance and Human Resources Departments. The project was presented to the GTPA (Groupe de Travail sur les Procédures Administratives) and discussed at the meeting of the SCC (Standing Concertation Committee) on 8 July 2004. The system designed and developed by the IT Department is now operational. What will change? Members of the personnel who currently receive a paper copy of their pay and/or leave statement will, in future, receive monthly e-mail notification of their electronic pay and leave statement, instead of the paper document. The current project does not affect retired members of the personnel. Each person receiving the e-mail notification will be invited to consult these electronic statements by clicking on a link p...

  18. e-Biologics: Fabrication of Sustainable Electronics with "Green" Biological Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovley, Derek R

    2017-06-27

    The growing ubiquity of electronic devices is increasingly consuming substantial energy and rare resources for materials fabrication, as well as creating expansive volumes of toxic waste. This is not sustainable. Electronic biological materials (e-biologics) that are produced with microbes, or designed with microbial components as the guide for synthesis, are a potential green solution. Some e-biologics can be fabricated from renewable feedstocks with relatively low energy inputs, often while avoiding the harsh chemicals used for synthesizing more traditional electronic materials. Several are completely free of toxic components, can be readily recycled, and offer unique features not found in traditional electronic materials in terms of size, performance, and opportunities for diverse functionalization. An appropriate investment in the concerted multidisciplinary collaborative research required to identify and characterize e-biologics and to engineer materials and devices based on e-biologics could be rewarded with a new "green age" of sustainable electronic materials and devices. Copyright © 2017 Lovley.

  19. Trend of Energy Saving in Electronic Devices for Research and Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahmayanti R.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In electronic industry, energy saving is one of the performance indicators of competitiveness beside price, speed, bandwidth and reliability. This affects research and development (R&D activity in mechatronic systems which uses electronic components and electronic systems. A review of trend of electronic devices technology development has been conducted with focus on energy saving. This review includes electronic devices, semiconductor, and nanotechnology. It can be concluded that the trend in electronic devices is mainly dictated by semiconductor technology development. The trend can be concluded as smaller size, lower voltage leading to energy saving, less heat, higher speed, more reliable, and cheaper. In accordance to such technology development, R&D activities in mechatronics especially in Indonesia is being pushed to make proper alignment.Some of such alignment actions are surface mount technology (SMT for installing surface mount devices components (SMD, design layout and SMD troubleshooting tools as well as human resources training and development.

  20. Emergency medicine educational resource use in Cape Town: modern or traditional?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleynhans, A C; Oosthuizen, A H; van Hoving, D J

    2017-05-01

    The integration of online resources and social media into higher education and continued professional development is an increasingly common phenomenon. To describe the usage of various traditional and modern educational resources by members of the divisions of emergency medicine at Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town. Members affiliated with the divisions during 2014 were invited to participate in an online survey. Participants were given 8 weeks to complete the questionnaire; with weekly reminders until they responded or the deadline expired. Summary statistics were used to describe the variables. Eighty-seven divisional members completed the survey (69.6% response rate). The resources most preferred were textbooks (n=78, 89.7%), open access educational resources (n=77, 88.5%) and journals (n=76, 87.4%). Emergency medicine trainees (n=31, 92.1%) and respondents ≤30 years (n=17, 94.4%) were more inclined to use social media. International Emergency Medicine and Critical Care blogs are frequently being used by 71% of respondents. YouTube (35%) and podcasts (21%) were the most commonly used multimedia resources. Computers (desktop and laptop) were most frequently used to access educational resources except for social media where smart phones were preferred. The use of modern and electronic resources is relatively common, but traditional educational resources are still preferred. This study illustrates an opportunity for greater integration of online resources and social media in educational activities to enhance multimodal and self-directed learning. Specific training in the use of these resources and how to appraise them may further improve their utility. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  1. Optimal Design of Rectification Circuit in Electronic Circuit Fault Self-repair Based on EHW and RBT

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHANG Junbin; CAI Jinyan; MENG Yafeng

    2018-01-01

    Reliability of traditional electronic circuit is improved mainly by redundant fault-tolerant technol-ogy with large hardware resource consumption and limited fault self-repair capability. In complicated environment, electronic circuit faults appear easily. If on-site immedi-ate repair is not implemented, normal running of elec-tronic system will be directly affected. In order to solve these problems, Evolvable hardware (EHW) technology is widely used. The conventional EHW has some bottlenecks. The optimal design of Rectification circuit (RTC) is fur-ther researched on the basis of the previously proposed fault self-repair based on EHW and Reparation balance technology (RBT). Fault sets are selected by fault danger degree and fault coverage rate. The optimal designed RTC can completely repair faults in the fault set. Simulation re-sults prove that it has higher self-repair capability and less hardware resource.

  2. Herpes - resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genital herpes - resources; Resources - genital herpes ... following organizations are good resources for information on genital herpes : March of Dimes -- www.marchofdimes.org/complications/sexually- ...

  3. ELECTRONIC EDUCATION IN UNDERGRADUATE RADIOLOGY: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MALAGA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Sendra Portero

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Since 1998, radiology teaching and learning electronic resources have been developed at the University of Málaga. Some experiences on undergraduate radiology education are presented in this paper: a self-conducted training on radiology called “A Walk through Radiology”, some projects to create and develop radiology consulting tools, a project about audio-recorded virtual lectures (AMERAM, started on 2005, and a Web portal to collect radiology education Internet resources. Finally, we conclude with some reflections about the experience along these years, which has contributed to improve the student’s radiology learning in our centre and has supplied educative tools to students and postgraduates of this and other cities. We consider that the European Space of Higher Education learning philosophy, student centered and self-learning based, gives a vital role to undergraduate electronic education tools.

  4. User Support of Electron Irradiation Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, S. H.; Cha, H. K.; Lee, B. C.

    2007-06-01

    The KAERI (Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute) high-power electron beam irradiation facility, operating at the energies between 0.3 MeV and 10 MeV,has provided irradiation services to users in industries, universities, and institutes via 'Project of utilization and cooperation of users of a large research facility' since 2004. A great attraction of many researchers, almost 750 persons so far according to surveys, to e-beam irradiation technology as well as the growth of participants on Workshop on Electron Beam Applications from 121 to 176 indicate the increase of demands of irradiation service. Comparing to the cases of advanced nations in this area, such as America, Japan, China, and Russia, Korea is relatively much behind in radiation technology. It is mainly due to the lack of governmental supports and investments. Active support and investment on construction and operation of electron beam user facilities would be principal factors on developments of advanced technologies. In this project, we would like to satisfy users' requests by developing the effective managing and operating system for prompt services, processes, and QA and to ultimately assist users to create additional new results, by maximizing the utilization of all available resources and activating the developments of technologies of electron beam processing

  5. SCRAN, Archaeology and Education: Realising the potential of digital resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaine Mowat

    2002-08-01

    Full Text Available The many digitisation initiatives over the last ten years have made available thousands of new resources for learning and teaching. Students of archaeology now have unprecedented access to detailed views of delicate artefacts, remote landscapes and rare maps, as well as virtual reality reconstructions, interactive panoramas, and all kinds of online archives, databases and tutorials. But does this increased access to information automatically lead to improved learning? Some of the emerging problems of this new learning landscape include information overload, poorly understood and badly implemented technologies and a lack of time and skills among educators to explore properly what's newly available. On the other hand, one of the most interesting outcomes of the introduction of the new educational technologies has been a renewed and lively debate as to what learning involves and how exactly it takes place. This article will discuss the potential of digital resources to add value to learning. It will consider current ideas about learning in order to identify some of the key ingredients of a good learning experience. It will then identify the different ways in which a digital resource base can contribute to such an experience. Specifically, it will discuss how the resources contained within SCRAN, an online multimedia resource base for education, can be used in the context of learning and teaching in archaeology. There is evidence that electronic resources are not yet being fully exploited by the current generation of educators and students. By grounding this discussion of their potential within a sound pedagogic rationale, this paper aims to promote informed use and properly placed enthusiasm for these resources.

  6. From red to green: building and managing the scientific electronic collections for a new Sci-Tech University Library

    KAUST Repository

    Al Zahrani, Rashed

    2013-08-01

    Electronic resources have evolved to become one of the most important resources within the library’s collection. The growths of these resources and the players involved within this area have provided library users with another alternative to obtain information. When implemented correctly with library assistance (library trainings, reference consultations and so forth), library users can access these electronic resources anywhere in the world with relative ease as long as there is an internet connection. Geographic barriers are no longer an issue and information can be obtained in a just-in-time manner. This paper describes how KAUST library built its electronic resources and how they grew into what it is today. Issues such as manpower, expertise level, budget, ERM tools, library-vendor relations and library-user communication will also be elaborated in the paper. Despite its drawbacks, KAUST library has managed to overcome most of them and strived to improve certain areas of concern. The paper will also describe the library’s ERM future directions and strategic planning. KAUST University was opened in September 2009 and it started out with its first cohort of 800 graduate students (25% female) taught by 100 faculties. The main areas of study focus on science and engineering divisions consisting mainly of: Mathematics and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. From a demographic snapshot taken in 2010, 36% of the student body came from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, 34% from Asia, 21% from Americas, 5% from Europe and 4% from Africa (alZahrani, R. , Branin, J. and Yi , 2012). The university library, when first started, had about 10 staff. The library is known to have a “state-of-the-art learning and information resource center supporting graduate education and advanced scientific research” (KAUST, 2010). The library subscribed to major science databases, electronic journals and books. It also offers a myriad of services from document

  7. Digital Resource Sharing and Library Consortia in Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tommaso Giordano

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Interlibrary cooperation in Italy is a fairly recent and not very widespread practice. Attention to the topic was aroused in the eighties with the Italian library network project. More recently, under the impetus toward technological innovation, there has been renewed (and more pragmatic interest in cooperation in all library sectors. Sharing electronic resources is the theme of greatest interest today in university libraries, where various initiatives are aimed at setting up consortia to purchase licenses and run digital products. A number of projects in hand are described, and emerging trends analyzed.

  8. The 3d International Workshop on Computational Electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodnick, Stephen M.

    1994-09-01

    The Third International Workshop on Computational Electronics (IWCE) was held at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon, on May 18, 19, and 20, 1994. The workshop was devoted to a broad range of topics in computational electronics related to the simulation of electronic transport in semiconductors and semiconductor devices, particularly those which use large computational resources. The workshop was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Naval Research and the Army Research Office, as well as local support from the Oregon Joint Graduate Schools of Engineering and the Oregon Center for Advanced Technology Education. There were over 100 participants in the Portland workshop, of which more than one quarter represented research groups outside of the United States from Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. There were a total 81 papers presented at the workshop, 9 invited talks, 26 oral presentations and 46 poster presentations. The emphasis of the contributions reflected the interdisciplinary nature of computational electronics with researchers from the Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Physics communities participating in the workshop.

  9. Reciprocal Relationships between Job Resources, Personal Resources, and Work Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xanthopoulou, Despoina; Bakker, Arnold B.; Demerouti, Evangelia; Schaufeli, Wilmar B.

    2009-01-01

    This study examined longitudinal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. On the basis of Conservation of Resources theory, we hypothesized that job resources, personal resources, and work engagement are reciprocal over time. The study was conducted among 163 employees, who were followed-up over a period of 18…

  10. Open access part II: the structure, resources, and implications for nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nick, Jan

    2011-11-23

    Electronic publishing has changed the landscape for broadcasting scholarly information. Now Open Access is globalizing scholarly work. Open Access facilitates lifelong learning habits; enhances dissemination and distribution of information; impacts the informatics curriculum; supports active learning; and provides areas for nursing informatics research. In the last 10 years the Open Access Movement has formalized into a distinct publishing paradigm. Many free, full-text resources are now available to guide nursing practice. This article describes the Open Access structure, and provides suggestions for using Open Access resources in classroom and practice settings. The nursing community is only beginning to accept and use Open Access. Yet all nurses should be aware of the unique opportunity to obtain free, current, and scholarly information through a variety of avenues and also to incorporate this information into their daily practice. The resources presented in this article can be used to increase nursing knowledge and support evidence-based practice.

  11. Resource acquisition policy: Multiple account evaluation of electricity resource alternatives [and] resource acquisition strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-06-01

    British Columbia Hydro has been directed by the provincial government to develop evaluation procedures to rank electricity resource alternatives in terms of their social benefits and costs, and to acquire resources on the basis of need. The current state of development of social costing at BC Hydro is detailed along with its application to the multiple account evaluation of resources. In this evaluation, BC Hydro's corporate costs, customer cost, transfer payments to the province, direct costs incurred by provincial or regional governments or other Crown agences, direct environmental impact costs from air emissions and land/water use, community and social impact costs, and economic development impacts are taken into account. The BC Hydro resource acquisition strategy is also described as it was developed in response to provincial policy on electricity supply from independent power producers. This strategy includes a determination of need, a decision to acquire need-determined resources either by itself or from a private sector developer, and decisions to acquire resources in advance of need for reasons such as economic opportunity, long-term strategies, or load displacement. Background information is included on calculation of air emissions costs. An illustrative example is provided of the multiple account evaluation of several types of resource projects. 1 fig., 5 tabs

  12. Adopting De Novo Programming Approach on IC Design Service Firms Resources Integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James K. C. Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The semiconductor industry has very important position in computer industry, ICT field, and new electronic technology developing. The IC design service is one of key factor of semiconductor industry development. There are more than 365 IC design service firms have been established around Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan. Building an efficient planning model for IC design service firm resources integrating is very interest issue. This study aims to construct a planning model for IC design service firm implementation resources integration. This study uses the De Novo programming as an approach of criteria alternative to achieve optimal resource allocation on IC design firm. Results show the IC design service firm should conduct open innovation concept and utilizes design outsourcing obtains cost down and enhance IC design service business performance. This plan model of De Novo programming is not only for IC design service firm and also can apply to the other industrial implementation strategic alliance/integrating resource. This plan model is a universal model for the others industries field.

  13. Australian uranium resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Battey, G.C.; Miezitis, Y.; McKay, A.D.

    1987-01-01

    Australia's uranium resources amount to 29% of the WOCA countries (world outside centrally-planned-economies areas) low-cost Reasonably Assured Resources and 28% of the WOCA countries low-cost Estimated Additional Resources. As at 1 January 1986, the Bureau of Mineral Resources estimated Australia's uranium resources as: (1) Cost range to US$80/kg U -Reasonably Assured Resources, 465 000 t U; Estimated Additional Resources, 256 000 t U; (2) Cost range US$80-130/kg U -Reasonably Assured Resources, 56 000 t U; Estimated Additional Resources, 127 000 t U. Most resources are contained in Proterozoic unconformity-related deposits in the Alligator Rivers uranium field in the Northern Territory (Jabiluka, Ranger, Koongarra, Nabarlek deposits) and the Proterozoic stratabound deposit at Olympic Dam on the Stuart Shelf in South Australia

  14. Electronic Literacy, Critical Pedagogy, and Collaboration: A Case for Cyborg Writing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkelmann, Carol L.

    1995-01-01

    Argues that the combination of collaborative writing and electronic resources can produce a reaffirmation of literacy as a social process. Utilizes feminist theory to equate the postmodernist assumptions regarding the indeterminate nature of language with democratizing influences. Describes a class project where students produced a collaborative,…

  15. Did transmission of Helicobacter pylori from humans cause a disease outbreak in a colony of Stripe-faced Dunnarts (Sminthopsis macroura?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Every Alison L

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Since the discovery that Helicobacter pylori causes a range of pathologies in the stomachs of infected humans, it has become apparent that Helicobacters are found in a diverse range of animal species where they are frequently associated with disease. In 2003 and 2004, there were two outbreaks of increased mortality associated with gastric bleeding and weight-loss in a captive colony of the Australian marsupial, the Stripe-faced Dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura. The presence of gastric pathology led to an investigation of potential Helicobacter pathogenesis in these animals. Histological examination revealed the presence of gastritis, and PCR analysis confirmed the presence of Helicobacter infection in the stomachs of these marsupials. Surprisingly, sequencing of 16S rRNA from these bacteria identified the species as H. pylori and PCR confirmed the strain to be positive for the important pathogenesis factor, cagA. We therefore describe, for the first time, an apparent reverse zoonotic infection of Stripe-faced Dunnarts with H. pylori. Already prone to pathological effects of stress (as experienced during breeding season, concomitant H. pylori infection appears to be a possible essential but not sufficient co-factor in prototypic gastric bleeding and weight loss in these marsupials. The Stripe-faced Dunnart could represent a new model for investigating Helicobacter-driven gastric pathology. Infections from their human handlers, specifically of H. pylori, may be a potential risk to captive colonies of marsupials.

  16. ACT-R Electronic Bookshelf: An Adaptive System To Support Learning ACT-R on the Web.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brusilovsky, Peter; Anderson, John

    This paper describes the electronic ACT-R Bookshelf, a system which supports learning ACT-R, a well-known theory in the field of cognitive psychology, over the World Wide Web. ACT-R Bookshelf is a collection of electronic books on various aspects of ACT-R. The primary role of ACT-R Bookshelf is to serve as a 24-hour information resource for…

  17. Resources and Resourcefulness in Language Teaching and Learning

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Attempts will be made in this paper to examine what we mean by language, language teaching and learning, resources and resourcefulness in language teaching and learning and the benefit of teachers being resourceful in language teaching and learning to both the learners, the teachers, the society and the nation at ...

  18. 78 FR 11877 - Announcement of Requirements Gathering Meetings for the Electronic Manifest (e-Manifest) System

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-20

    ... either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Resource Conservation and... of proposed rulemaking that, among other things, proposed revisions to the Federal manifest program...

  19. Analysis on Current Situation and Countermeasure of Domestic Electronic Commerce Logistics in the Internet Age——Based on Resource Dependence Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Jiapeng

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the status of electric business logistics in the current Internet era in China, and combines the SWOT analysis with AHP to do the empirical analysis, then puts forward the countermeasure that the electric business logistics resource should be shared based on the resource dependence theory. Through the empirical analysis, it is found that the disadvantages and opportunities of the logistics status are important in the Internet era.The resource sharing strategy based on the resource dependence theory is more scientific. The rational use of Internet technology in electric business logistics industry can achieve “sharing”. It is of great significance for its balanced development, intelligent development and optimization and development.

  20. Increasing reliability and availability in smart spaces : a novel architecture for resource and service management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhardwaj, S.; Ozcelebi, T.; Syed, Aly; Ozunlu, O.; Lukkien, J.J.

    2012-01-01

    Smart spaces are physical spaces where services provided by Consumer Electronics (CE) devices with varying resource availabilities work together to realize user-specific automated scenarios. These scenarios may be interrupted in case one of the services making up the scenario stops working, e.g. due

  1. Design of Functional Polyesters for Electronic and Biological Applications

    OpenAIRE

    Nelson, Ashley Marie

    2015-01-01

    Melt polymerization and novel monomers enabled the synthesis of polyesters for electronic and biological applications. Inspiration from nature and a passion for environmental preservation instigated an emphasis on the incorporation of renewable resources into polymeric materials. Critical analysis of current research surrounding bisphenol-A replacements and ioncontaining segmented polyurethanes aided in identifying benchmark polymers, including limitations, challenges, and future needs. Struc...

  2. Implementation of Electronic Health Records in US Nursing Homes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjarnadottir, Ragnhildur I; Herzig, Carolyn T A; Travers, Jasmine L; Castle, Nicholas G; Stone, Patricia W

    2017-08-01

    While electronic health records have emerged as promising tools to help improve quality of care, nursing homes have lagged behind in implementation. This study assessed electronic health records implementation, associated facility characteristics, and potential impact on quality indicators in nursing homes. Using national Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and survey data for nursing homes, a cross-sectional analysis was conducted to identify variations between nursing homes that had and had not implemented electronic health records. A difference-in-differences analysis was used to estimate the longitudinal effect of electronic health records on commonly used quality indicators. Data from 927 nursing homes were examined, 49.1% of which had implemented electronic health records. Nursing homes with electronic health records were more likely to be nonprofit/government owned (P = .04) and had a lower percentage of Medicaid residents (P = .02) and higher certified nursing assistant and registered nurse staffing levels (P = .002 and .02, respectively). Difference-in-differences analysis showed greater quality improvements after implementation for five long-stay and two short-stay quality measures (P = .001 and .01, respectively) compared with those who did not implement electronic health records. Implementation rates in nursing homes are low compared with other settings, and better-resourced facilities are more likely to have implemented electronic health records. Consistent with other settings, electronic health records implementation improves quality in nursing homes, but further research is needed to better understand the mechanism for improvement and how it can best be supported.

  3. The Role of E-Vocabularies in the Description and Retrieval of Digital Educational Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana M. Fernández-Pampillón

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Vocabularies are linguistic resources that make it possible to access knowledge through words. They can constitute a mechanism to identify, describe, explore, and access all the digital resources with informational content pertaining to a specific knowledge domain. In this regard, they play a key role as systems for the representation and organization of knowledge in environments in which content is created and used in a collaborative and free manner, as is the case of social wikis and blogs on the Internet or educational content in e-learning environments. In e-learning environments, electronic vocabularies (e-vocabularies constitute a mechanism for conceptual representation of digital educational resources. They enable human and software agents either to locate and interpret resource content in large digital repositories, including the web, or to use them (vocabularies as an educational resource by itself to learn a discipline terminology. This review article describes what e-vocabularies are, what they are like, how they are used, how they work, and what they contribute to the retrieval of digital educational resources. The goal is to contribute to a clearer view of the concepts which we regard as crucial to understand e-vocabularies and their use in the field of e-learning to describe and retrieve digital educational resources.

  4. Implantable medical electronics prosthetics, drug delivery, and health monitoring

    CERN Document Server

    Khanna, Vinod Kumar

    2016-01-01

    This book is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary resource for the latest information on implantable medical devices, and is intended for graduate students studying electrical engineering, electronic instrumentation, and biomedical engineering. It is also appropriate for academic researchers, professional engineers, practicing doctors, and paramedical staff. Divided into two sections on Basic Concepts and Principles, and Applications, the first section provides an all-embracing perspective of the electronics background necessary for this work. The second section deals with pacing techniques used for the heart, brain, spinal cord, and the network of nerves that interlink the brain and spinal cord with the major organs, including ear and eye prostheses. The four main offshoots of implantable electronics, which this book discusses, are: The insertion of an implantable neural amplifier for accurate recording of neural signals for neuroengineering studies The use of implantable pulse generators for pacing the activi...

  5. Electron/electron acoustic instability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gary, S.P.

    1987-01-01

    The electron acoustic wave becomes a normal mode of an unmagnetized collisionless plasma in the presence of two electron components with similar densities, but strongly disparate temperatures. The characteristic frequency of this mode is the plasma frequency of the cooler electron component. If these two electron components have a relative drift speed several times the thermal speed of the cooler component, the electron/electron acoustic instability may arise. This paper describes the parametric dependences of the threshold drift speed and maximum growth rate of this instability, and compares these with the same properties of the electron/ion acoustic instability. Under the condition of zero current, the electron/ion acoustic instability typically has the lower threshold drift speed, so that observation of the electron/electron acoustic instability is a strong indication of the presence of an electrical current in the plasma

  6. Chemical dependence - resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Substance use - resources, Drug abuse - resources; Resources - chemical dependence ... are a good resource for information on drug dependence: National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence -- ncadd. ...

  7. Electronics and electronic systems

    CERN Document Server

    Olsen, George H

    1987-01-01

    Electronics and Electronic Systems explores the significant developments in the field of electronics and electronic devices. This book is organized into three parts encompassing 11 chapters that discuss the fundamental circuit theory and the principles of analog and digital electronics. This book deals first with the passive components of electronic systems, such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors. These topics are followed by a discussion on the analysis of electronic circuits, which involves three ways, namely, the actual circuit, graphical techniques, and rule of thumb. The remaining p

  8. Electrons, Electronic Publishing, and Electronic Display.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brownrigg, Edwin B.; Lynch, Clifford A.

    1985-01-01

    Provides a perspective on electronic publishing by distinguishing between "Newtonian" publishing and "quantum-mechanical" publishing. Highlights include media and publishing, works delivered through electronic media, electronic publishing and the printed word, management of intellectual property, and recent copyright-law issues…

  9. The effects of human resource flexibility on human resources development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SeidMehdi Veise

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Human resources are the primary factor for development of competitiveness and innovation and reaching competitive advantage and they try to improve corporate capabilities through various characteristics such as value creation, scarcity and difficulty of imitation. This paper investigates the effect of human resource flexibility and its dimensions on human resource development and its dimensions. The survey was conducted using descriptive-correlation method that intended to describe how human resource flexibility was effective on human resource development. Questionnaire was tool of data collection. The statistical population included one hundred employees of the Electric Company in Ilam province, thus census method was used. Reliability of the questionnaire was measured via Cronbach's alpha equal to 0.96. The findings revealed that flexibility and its dimensions were effective on human resource development and dimensions of it. As a result, human resource flexibility should be considered for development of human resources and employees with the highest flexibility should be selected.

  10. Increasing reliability and availability in smart spaces : a novel architecture for resource and service management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhardwaj, S.; Ozcelebi, T.; Ozunlu, O.; Lukkien, J.J.

    2012-01-01

    Smart spaces are physical spaces where services provided by Consumer Electronics (CE) devices with varying resource availabilities work together to realize user-specific automated scenarios. These scenarios may be interrupted in case one of the services making up the scenario stops, e.g. due to lack

  11. Availability and accessibility of evidence-based information resources provided by medical libraries in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritchie, A; Sowter, B

    2000-01-01

    This article reports on the results of an exploratory survey of the availability and accessibility of evidence-based information resources provided by medical libraries in Australia. Although barriers impede access to evidence-based information for hospital clinicians, the survey revealed that Medline and Cinahl are available in over 90% of facilities. In most cases they are widely accessible via internal networks and the Internet. The Cochrane Library is available in 69% of cases. The Internet is widely accessible and most libraries provide access to some full-text, electronic journals. Strategies for overcoming restrictions and integrating information resources with clinical workflow are being pursued. State, regional and national public and private consortia are developing agreements utilising on-line technology. These could produce cost savings and more equitable access to a greater range of evidence-based resources.

  12. The development of technology for recycling of electronic scrap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Hyo-Shin; Kim, Won-Baek; Sohn, Yong-Uhn [Korea Institute of Geology Mining and Materials, Taejon (KR)] (and others)

    1999-12-01

    Electronic devices, especially computer becomes an essential tools for home and industries entering the information era. The number of computers exceed over 100 million, hence, the amount of end of life(EOL) computer and electronic scrap is increasing. These wastes and scraps include products rejected from manufacturing processes and obstacle computers. Owing to a short life cycle of electronic products and rapid growth of electronic industries, the number of domestic EOL computers goes beyond a million and its disposal causes an environmental problems. Therefore, this recycling is considered to play an important role from the viewpoint of environmental preservation as well as reusable resources. The process development for the recovery of valuable materials and minimization of waste from electronic scrap has been carried out. In the first year of three year project, physical separation such as shredding, crushing, and magnetic separation is established to reclaim valuable materials effectively. Then, hydro- and pyrometallurgical processes are employed to recover valuable metals from electronic scrap. First, metallic and nonmetallic portion are separated from PCBs by a newly designed shredder to prevent hazardous organic materials from further chemical treatment. The optimum conditions for each unit process were found in terms of separation ratio, energy consumption, recovery rate, etc. (author). 92 refs., 24 tabs., 39 figs.

  13. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE, PART OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TEODORESCU ANA-MARIA

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article shows the role of electronic commerce in the digital economy, where information is the main resource. Internet, information society technology vector, made possible transition to a knowledge society at the beginning of XXI century. New economy involves transition from a traditional economy based on resources, to a knowledge-based economy. The development of information technology leads to major changes in the economic and social fields. In a world of globalization, e-commerce, part of the information society, manages to eliminate geographical barriers between participants at economic transactions. I presented e-commerce history, definitions. I pointed out the importance of this sector at european level by quantification of indicators. I used a theoretical research and qualitative analysis of the data. I presented values indicators at the european level, the lowest and highest value, and recorded values for Romania.

  14. Water Resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abira, M.A.

    1997-01-01

    Water is essential for life and ecological sustenance; its availability is essential component of national welfare and productivity.The country's socio-economic activities are largely dependent on the natural endowment of water resources. Kenya's water resources comprises of surface waters (rivers, lakes and wetlands) and ground water. Surface water forms 86% of total water resources while the rest is ground water Geological, topographical and climatic factors influence the natural availability and distribution of water with the rainfall distribution having the major influence. Water resources in Kenya are continuously under threat of depletion and quality degradation owing to rising population, industrialization, changing land use and settlement activities as well as natural changes. However, the anticipated climate change is likely to exacerbate the situation resulting in increased conflict over water use rights in particular, and, natural resource utilisation in general. The impacts of climate change on the water resources would lead to other impacts on environmental and socio-economic systems

  15. Electronic warfare receivers and receiving systems

    CERN Document Server

    Poisel, Richard A

    2014-01-01

    Receivers systems are considered the core of electronic warfare (EW) intercept systems. Without them, the fundamental purpose of such systems is null and void. This book considers the major elements that make up receiver systems and the receivers that go in them.This resource provides system design engineers with techniques for design and development of EW receivers for modern modulations (spread spectrum) in addition to receivers for older, common modulation formats. Each major module in these receivers is considered in detail. Design information is included as well as performance tradeoffs o

  16. Electronic access to scientific nursing knowledge: the Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graves, J R

    2001-02-01

    To inform oncology nurses about the electronic knowledge resources offered by the Sigma Theta Tau International Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library. Published articles and research studies. Clinical nursing research dissemination has been seriously affected by publication bias. The Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library has introduced both a new publishing paradigm for research and a new knowledge indexing strategy for improving electronic access to research knowledge (findings). The ability of oncology nursing to evolve, as an evidence-based practice, is largely dependent on access to research findings.

  17. Electron-electron Bremsstrahlung for bound target electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haug, E.

    2008-01-01

    For the process of electron-electron (e-e) Bremsstrahlung the momentum and energy distributions of the recoiling electrons are calculated in the laboratory frame. In order to get the differential cross section and the photon spectrum for target electrons which are bound to an atom, these formulae are multiplied by the incoherent scattering function and numerically integrated over the recoil energy. The effect of atomic binding is most pronounced at low energies of the incident electrons and for target atoms of high atomic numbers. The results are compared to those of previous calculations. (authors)

  18. Effect of electron beam on in vitro cultured orchid organs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ryu, Jaihyunk; Bae, Seho; Bae, Changhyu [Sunchon National Univ., Suncheon (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Hyun Suk; Lee, Byung Cheol [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2010-07-01

    Ionizing radiations have been effective mutagen sources to overcome the limitation of the useful genetic resources in natural environment. The study was conducted to investigate an effect of electron beam on organogenesis, growth patterns and genetic variation in the irradiated orchid organs. The in utero cultured rhizomes of orchids were irradiated with the electron beam in the dose range of 15Gy to 2240Gy under the condition of various beam energy and beam current. Significant decreases in survival, growth and organogenesis were observed by increase of intensity of electron beam irradiation. The irradiation intensity of lethal dose 50 of the in utero cultured orchid was estimated as approximately 500Gy to 1000Gy under 10MeV/n, and 1000Gy was optimal for growth and organogenesis of the cultures under 10MeV/n with 0.05mA treatment, and 15Gy {approx} 48Gy under 2MeV/n and 0.5mA electron beam condition. RAPD and ISSR analyses for the electron beam irradiated organs were performed to analyze genetic variation under the electron beam condition. Both of RAPD and ISSR analyses showed higher polymorphic rate in the electron-beam irradiated C. gangrene and C. Kaner.

  19. Energy education resources: Kindergarten through 12th grade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-09-01

    Energy Education Resources: Kindergarten Through 12th Grade is published by the National Energy Information Center (NEIC) a service of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), to provide students, educators, and other information users, a list of generally available free or low-cost energy-related educational materials. Each entry includes the address, telephone number, and description of the organization and the energy-related materials available. Most of the entries also include Internet (Web) and electronic mail (E-Mail) addresses. Each entry is followed by a number, which is referenced in the subject index in the back of this book.

  20. Imprinted X chromosome inactivation: evolution of mechanisms in distantly related mammals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shafagh A. Waters

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In females, X chromosome inactivation (XCI ensures transcriptional silencing of one of the two Xs (either in a random or imprinted fashion in somatic cells. Comparing this silencing between species has offered insight into different mechanisms of X inactivation, providing clues into the evolution of this epigenetic process in mammals. Long-noncoding RNAs have emerged as a common theme in XCI of therian mammals (eutherian and marsupial. Eutherian X inactivation is regulated by the noncoding RNA product of XIST, within a cis-acting master control region called the X inactivation center (XIC. Marsupials XCI is XIST independent. Instead, XCI is controlled by the long-noncoding RNA Rsx, which appears to be a functional analog of the eutherian XIST gene, insofar that its transcript coats the inactive X and represses activity of genes in cis. In this review we discuss XCI in eutherians, and contrast imprinted X inactivation in mouse and marsupials. We provide particular focus on the evolution of genomic elements that confer the unique epigenetic features that characterize the inactive X chromosome.

  1. Characterization of the antimicrobial peptide family defensins in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), and tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Elizabeth A; Cheng, Yuanyuan; O'Meally, Denis; Belov, Katherine

    2017-03-01

    Defensins comprise a family of cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides with important roles in innate and adaptive immune defense in vertebrates. We characterized alpha and beta defensin genes in three Australian marsupials: the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), and tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) and identified 48, 34, and 39 defensins, respectively. One hundred and twelve have the classical antimicrobial peptides characteristics required for pathogen membrane targeting, including cationic charge (between 1+ and 15+) and a high proportion of hydrophobic residues (>30%). Phylogenetic analysis shows that gene duplication has driven unique and species-specific expansions of devil, koala, and tammar wallaby beta defensins and devil alpha defensins. Defensin genes are arranged in three genomic clusters in marsupials, whereas further duplications and translocations have occurred in eutherians resulting in four and five gene clusters in mice and humans, respectively. Marsupial defensins are generally under purifying selection, particularly residues essential for defensin structural stability. Certain hydrophobic or positively charged sites, predominantly found in the defensin loop, are positively selected, which may have functional significance in defensin-target interaction and membrane insertion.

  2. Electron Storage Ring Development for ICS Sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loewen, Roderick [Lyncean Technologies, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (United States)

    2015-09-30

    There is an increasing world-wide interest in compact light sources based on Inverse Compton Scattering. Development of these types of light sources includes leveraging the investment in accelerator technology first developed at DOE National Laboratories. Although these types of light sources cannot replace the larger user-supported synchrotron facilities, they offer attractive alternatives for many x-ray science applications. Fundamental research at the SLAC National Laboratory in the 1990’s led to the idea of using laser-electron storage rings as a mechanism to generate x-rays with many properties of the larger synchrotron light facilities. This research led to a commercial spin-off of this technology. The SBIR project goal is to understand and improve the performance of the electron storage ring system of the commercially available Compact Light Source. The knowledge gained from studying a low-energy electron storage ring may also benefit other Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS) source development. Better electron storage ring performance is one of the key technologies necessary to extend the utility and breadth of applications of the CLS or related ICS sources. This grant includes a subcontract with SLAC for technical personnel and resources for modeling, feedback development, and related accelerator physics studies.

  3. Trypanosoma janseni n. sp. (Trypanosomatida: Trypanosomatidae) isolated from Didelphis aurita (Mammalia: Didelphidae) in the Atlantic Rainforest of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: integrative taxonomy and phylogeography within the Trypanosoma cruzi clade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes, Camila Madeira Tavares; Menna-Barreto, Rubem Figueiredo Sadok; Pavan, Márcio Galvão; Pereira, Mirian Cláudia De Souza; Roque, André Luiz R

    2018-01-01

    Didelphis spp. are a South American marsupial species that are among the most ancient hosts for the Trypanosoma spp. We characterise a new species (Trypanosoma janseni n. sp.) isolated from the spleen and liver tissues of Didelphis aurita in the Atlantic Rainforest of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The parasites were isolated and a growth curve was performed in NNN and Schneider's media containing 10% foetal bovine serum. Parasite morphology was evaluated via light microscopy on Giemsa-stained culture smears, as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Molecular taxonomy was based on a partial region (737-bp) of the small subunit (18S) ribosomal RNA gene and 708 bp of the nuclear marker, glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) genes. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods were used to perform a species coalescent analysis and to generate individual and concatenated gene trees. Divergence times among species that belong to the T. cruzi clade were also inferred. In vitro growth curves demonstrated a very short log phase, achieving a maximum growth rate at day 3 followed by a sharp decline. Only epimastigote forms were observed under light and scanning microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed structures typical to Trypanosoma spp., except one structure that presented as single-membraned, usually grouped in stacks of three or four. Phylogeography analyses confirmed the distinct species status of T. janseni n. sp. within the T. cruzi clade. Trypanosoma janseni n. sp. clusters with T. wauwau in a well-supported clade, which is exclusive and monophyletic. The separation of the South American T. wauwau + T. janseni coincides with the separation of the Southern Super Continent. This clade is a sister group of the trypanosomes found in Australian marsupials and its discovery sheds light on the initial diversification process based on what we currently know about the T. cruzi clade.

  4. Users’ Awareness of Electronic Books is Limited. A review of: Levine‐Clark, Michael. “Electronic Book Usage: A Survey at the University of Denver.” portal: Libraries and the Academy 6.3 (Jul. 2006: 285‐99.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gale G. Hannigan

    2007-06-01

    of an electronic book; only 7.1% of 1,148 respondents indicated they read the entire electronic book. In answer to a questiona bout choosing the print or electronic version of the same book, 60.7% responded that they would always or usually use print,and 21.5% indicated they would always or usually use electronic. The amount of material to read, the need to refer to the material at a later time, and the desire to annotate or highlight text are all factors that influence whether users read electronic books on a computer or PDA, or print out the material. U.S. government publications and netLibrary were the electronic resources used the most by survey participants.Conclusion – The results of this survey suggest the need to market availability of the library’s electronic books. Problems associated with the use of electronic books are related to reading large amounts of text on a computer screen, but a reported benefitis that searching text in an electronic book is easier. Responses to the survey suggest that the use of electronic resources may not be generic, but rather depends on the type of resource (content being used. The author notes that this finding should lead to further investigation of which items will be preferred and used in which format.

  5. Plastic coating on paper by electron beam irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ametani, Kazuo; Tsuchiya, Mitsuaki; Sawai, Takeshi

    1984-01-01

    It has been known long since that the resin system of unsaturated polyester and vinylmonomer mixture cures by irradiation. Ford of USA for the first time industrialized the radiation curing reaction of resins for the coating of automobile parts. Thereafter, accompanying the development and technical advance of the low energy electron beam irradiation apparatus which is suitable to surface treatment such as coating and easy to handle and the development of resins, the electron beam curing method has become to be utilized for coating hardboard and wooden doors, coating automobile tire rims, adhering printing papers and others. The electron beam curing method has advantage such as energy conservation, resource saving and little pollution because solvent is not used, high production rate and small floor space. In glossing industry, for the purpose of developing the techniques to apply electron beam curing method to glazed paper production, the selection of the composition of resins suitable to glazed papers, the irradiating condition and the properties of cured films were examined. The films withstanding bending can be obtained at low dose with urethane group, ester group or the combination of monomers. (Kako, I.)

  6. Accio e-Libri: Magically Delivering Digital Resources to Patrons Using NFC Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher M. Jimenez

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone, our library created a Happee Birthdae Harry display incorporating Near Field Communication (NFC technology alongside print materials in order to magically place electronic resources in our users’ hands. The display was a spellbinding success, increasing usage of both print and electronic items, and helping our students become familiar with this innovative technology in an engaging manner. This article will provide step-by-step instructions on the materials and procedures librarians need to implement NFC technology in their own libraries, and will discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with this rapidly spreading technology.

  7. Electron spin control of optically levitated nanodiamonds in vacuum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoang, Thai M; Ahn, Jonghoon; Bang, Jaehoon; Li, Tongcang

    2016-07-19

    Electron spins of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres are important quantum resources for nanoscale sensing and quantum information. Combining NV spins with levitated optomechanical resonators will provide a hybrid quantum system for novel applications. Here we optically levitate a nanodiamond and demonstrate electron spin control of its built-in NV centres in low vacuum. We observe that the strength of electron spin resonance (ESR) is enhanced when the air pressure is reduced. To better understand this system, we investigate the effects of trap power and measure the absolute internal temperature of levitated nanodiamonds with ESR after calibration of the strain effect. We also observe that oxygen and helium gases have different effects on both the photoluminescence and the ESR contrast of nanodiamond NV centres, indicating potential applications of NV centres in oxygen gas sensing. Our results pave the way towards a levitated spin-optomechanical system for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics.

  8. Electron spin control of optically levitated nanodiamonds in vacuum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoang, Thai M.; Ahn, Jonghoon; Bang, Jaehoon; Li, Tongcang

    2016-07-01

    Electron spins of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres are important quantum resources for nanoscale sensing and quantum information. Combining NV spins with levitated optomechanical resonators will provide a hybrid quantum system for novel applications. Here we optically levitate a nanodiamond and demonstrate electron spin control of its built-in NV centres in low vacuum. We observe that the strength of electron spin resonance (ESR) is enhanced when the air pressure is reduced. To better understand this system, we investigate the effects of trap power and measure the absolute internal temperature of levitated nanodiamonds with ESR after calibration of the strain effect. We also observe that oxygen and helium gases have different effects on both the photoluminescence and the ESR contrast of nanodiamond NV centres, indicating potential applications of NV centres in oxygen gas sensing. Our results pave the way towards a levitated spin-optomechanical system for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics.

  9. Network resource management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2009-01-01

    The invention provides real time dynamic resource management to improve end-to-end QoS by mobile devices regularly updating a resource availability server (RAS) with resource update information. Examples of resource update information are device battery status, available memory, session bandwidth,

  10. Evolution of vertebrate interferon inducible transmembrane proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hickford Danielle

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Interferon inducible transmembrane proteins (IFITMs have diverse roles, including the control of cell proliferation, promotion of homotypic cell adhesion, protection against viral infection, promotion of bone matrix maturation and mineralisation, and mediating germ cell development. Most IFITMs have been well characterised in human and mouse but little published data exists for other animals. This study characterised IFITMs in two distantly related marsupial species, the Australian tammar wallaby and the South American grey short-tailed opossum, and analysed the phylogeny of the IFITM family in vertebrates. Results Five IFITM paralogues were identified in both the tammar and opossum. As in eutherians, most marsupial IFITM genes exist within a cluster, contain two exons and encode proteins with two transmembrane domains. Only two IFITM genes, IFITM5 and IFITM10, have orthologues in both marsupials and eutherians. IFITM5 arose in bony fish and IFITM10 in tetrapods. The bone-specific expression of IFITM5 appears to be restricted to therian mammals, suggesting that its specialised role in bone production is a recent adaptation specific to mammals. IFITM10 is the most highly conserved IFITM, sharing at least 85% amino acid identity between birds, reptiles and mammals and suggesting an important role for this presently uncharacterised protein. Conclusions Like eutherians, marsupials also have multiple IFITM genes that exist in a gene cluster. The differing expression patterns for many of the paralogues, together with poor sequence conservation between species, suggests that IFITM genes have acquired many different roles during vertebrate evolution.

  11. Strongly Correlated Electron Systems: An Operatorial Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Ciolo, Andrea; Avella, Adolfo

    2018-05-01

    We discuss the operatorial approach to the study of strongly correlated electron systems and show how the exact solution of target models on small clusters chosen ad-hoc (minimal models) can suggest very efficient bulk approximations. We use the Hubbard model as case study (target model) and we analyze and discuss the crucial role of spin fluctuations in its 2-site realization (minimal model). Accordingly, we devise a novel three-pole approximation for the 2D case, including in the basic field an operator describing the dressing of the electronic one by the nearest-neighbor spin-fluctuations. Such a solution is in very good agreement with the exact one in the minimal model (2-site case) and performs very well once compared to advanced (semi-)numerical methods in the 2D case, being by far less computational-resource demanding.

  12. Large scale electronic structure calculations in the study of the condensed phase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Dam, H.J.J.; Guest, M.F.; Sherwood, P.; Thomas, J.M.H.; van Lenthe, J.H.; van Lingen, J.N.J.; Bailey, C.L.; Bush, I.J.

    2006-01-01

    We consider the role that large-scale electronic structure computations can now play in the modelling of the condensed phase. To structure our analysis, we consider four distict ways in which today's scientific targets can be re-scoped to take advantage of advances in computing resources: 1. time to

  13. Interplay between electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roesch, O.; Gunnarsson, O.; Han, J.E.; Crespi, V.H.

    2005-01-01

    We discuss the interplay between electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions for alkali-doped fullerides and high temperature superconductors. Due to the similarity of the electron and phonon energy scales, retardation effects are small for fullerides. This raises questions about the origin of superconductivity, since retardation effects are believed to be crucial for reducing effects of the Coulomb repulsion in conventional superconductors. We demonstrate that by treating the electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions on an equal footing, superconductivity can be understood in terms of a local pairing. The Jahn-Teller character of the important phonons in fullerides plays a crucial role for this result. To describe effects of phonons in cuprates, we derive a t-J model with phonons from the three-band model. Using exact diagonalization for small clusters, we find that the anomalous softening of the half-breathing phonon as well as its doping dependence can be explained. By comparing the solution of the t-J model with the Hartree-Fock approximation for the three-band model, we address results obtained in the local-density approximation for cuprates. We find that genuine many-body results, due to the interplay between the electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions, play an important role for the the results in the t-J model. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  14. Consumer reports [electronic resource

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1942-01-01

    ... only. A limited number of selected reports, advice on product selection and safety alerts are freely available, as are a five year listing of product recalls, a listing of major consumer product...

  15. The Skull of Epidolops ameghinoi from the Early Eocene Itaboraí Fauna, Southeastern Brazil, and the Affinities of the Extinct Marsupialiform Order Polydolopimorphia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Robin M D

    2017-01-01

    The skull of the polydolopimorphian marsupialiform Epidolops ameghinoi is described in detail for the first time, based on a single well-preserved cranium and associated left and right dentaries plus additional craniodental fragments, all from the early Eocene (53-50 million year old) Itaboraí fauna in southeastern Brazil. Notable craniodental features of E. ameghinoi include absence of a masseteric process, very small maxillopalatine fenestrae, a prominent pterygoid fossa enclosed laterally by a prominent ectopterygoid crest, an absent or tiny transverse canal foramen, a simple, planar glenoid fossa, and a postglenoid foramen that is immediately posterior to the postglenoid process. Most strikingly, the floor of the hypotympanic sinus was apparently unossified, a feature found in several stem marsupials but absent in all known crown marsupials. "Type II" marsupialiform petrosals previously described from Itaboraí plausibly belong to E. ameghinoi ; in published phylogenetic analyses, these petrosals fell outside (crown-clade) Marsupialia. "IMG VII" tarsals previously referred to E. ameghinoi do not share obvious synapomorphies with any crown marsupial clade, nor do they resemble those of the only other putative polydolopimorphians represented by tarsal remains, namely the argyrolagids. Most studies have placed Polydolopimorphia within Marsupialia, related to either Paucituberculata, or to Microbiotheria and Diprotodontia. However, diprotodonty almost certainly evolved independently in polydolopimorphians, paucituberculatans and diprotodontians, and Epidolops does not share obvious synapomorphies with any marsupial order. Epidolops is dentally specialized, but several morphological features appear to be more plesiomorphic than any crown marsupial. It seems likely Epidolops that falls outside Marsupialia, as do morphologically similar forms such as Bonapartherium and polydolopids. Argyrolagids differ markedly in their known morphology from Epidolops but share some

  16. Influence of pulse electromagnetic fields on electronic equipment and systems in smart buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacek Paś

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The article presents information about the impact of electromagnetic fields’ impulses on technical infrastructure of electronic equipment and systems in intelligent buildings. The use of modern technical solutions in intelligent building management, i.e., human resources control and automation systems, efficient building space management, requires a large number of integrated electronic systems. Impulse interference, lightning or electricity as natural phenomena are among the most responsible for the occurrence of interference in buses, transmission lines systems, electrical installations, equipment and electronic systems used in intelligent buildings. To a large extent, it is associated with catastrophic damages that may occur in electronic devices or in completed systems such as intelligent building, e.g. ICT, security, etc. under the influence of induced voltages and interfering signals’ currents. Keywords: noise, static electricity, lightning

  17. SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW ON RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND RESOURCE SCHEDULING IN CLOUD COMPUTING

    OpenAIRE

    B. Muni Lavanya; C. Shoba Bindu

    2016-01-01

    The objective the work is intended to highlight the key features and afford finest future directions in the research community of Resource Allocation, Resource Scheduling and Resource management from 2009 to 2016. Exemplifying how research on Resource Allocation, Resource Scheduling and Resource management has progressively increased in the past decade by inspecting articles, papers from scientific and standard publications. Survey materialized in three-fold process. Firstly, investigate on t...

  18. THE USE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES OF THE KNUKIM SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY FOR INFORMATION SERVICES PROVIDING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    В. В. Степко

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The article highlights information resources of the scientific library of the Kiev National University of Culture and Arts and characterizes its use in the system of providing librarian and informational services for users. It is proved that the important information resource of the library is website, which provides additional opportunities for users, forming a positive image of the library in the virtual space. The site contains information on various directions of the library’s activities, librarian services, projects and media products. One of the main tasks of the library is formation and presentation on the website of the electronic catalog as a multifunctional bibliographic resource, which is the basis for informational services and the basic information product of the library. The creation of an electronic library continues as the essential element of providing qualitative and effective services to users. The article discusses the functioning of the “Virtual Help” service as an effective form of working with remote users. The authors also consider such an actual direction of the library’s activity as the presentation of the scientific and creative heritage of the university with help of “12 + books of the year” project. The aim of the project is to inform about new editions of university’s teachers published this year and presented in the library fund. The implementation of the patriotic innovation and educational project “Treasures of the Nation”, whose purpose is to study and popularize the elements of the intangible cultural heritage ofUkraine, is analyzed. The booktrails and flash presentations are considered as a means of presenting books prepared by the library staff. The preparation of longreed, a new format for submitting information on the Internet, is also considered. Thanks to the use of Tilda Publishing and ThingLink services, innovative products were created: a complex multimedia story that combined photos

  19. Electronic waste and informal recycling in Kathmandu, Nepal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Parajuly, Keshav; Thapa, Khim B.; Cimpan, Ciprian

    2018-01-01

    In the absence of relevant policies and supporting infrastructure, many developing countries are struggling to establish a resource-oriented waste management system. In countries like Nepal, where informal recycling practices are prevalent, the lack of understanding of the existing system hinders...... surveys, and site observations was conducted to understand the local recycling sector, the lifecycle of electronic products, and the relevant stakeholders. E-waste is found to be an integral part of the existing solid waste management chain and, therefore, needs to be addressed collectively. We identify...... any advancement in this sector. We characterize the informal recycling chain in Kathmandu, where a workforce of more than 10,000 people handles the recyclable items in various waste streams, including electronic waste (e-waste). A field study, supported by key informant interviews, questionnaire...

  20. Electronic publishing and information handling: Plenty of roses, but also some thorns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heck, André

    The current dramatic evolution in information technology is bringing major modifications in the way scientists communicate. The concept of 'electronic publishing' is too restrictive and has often different, sometimes conflicting, interpretations. It is giving way to the broader notion of 'electronic information handling' encompassing the diverse types of information, the different media, as well as the various communication methodologies and technologies. New problems and challenges result also from this new information culture, especially on legal, ethical, and educational grounds. The procedures for validating 'published material' and for evaluating scientific activities will have to be adjusted too. 'Fluid' information is becoming an omnipresent reality. Electronic publishing cannot be conceived without link to knowledge bases and information resources, nor without intelligent information retrieval tools.

  1. Bio-processing of solid wastes and secondary resources for metal extraction - A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jae-Chun; Pandey, Banshi Dhar

    2012-01-01

    Metal containing wastes/byproducts of various industries, used consumer goods, and municipal waste are potential pollutants, if not treated properly. They may also be important secondary resources if processed in eco-friendly manner for secured supply of contained metals/materials. Bio-extraction of metals from such resources with microbes such as bacteria, fungi and archaea is being increasingly explored to meet the twin objectives of resource recycling and pollution mitigation. This review focuses on the bio-processing of solid wastes/byproducts of metallurgical and manufacturing industries, chemical/petrochemical plants, electroplating and tanning units, besides sewage sludge and fly ash of municipal incinerators, electronic wastes (e-wastes/PCBs), used batteries, etc. An assessment has been made to quantify the wastes generated and its compositions, microbes used, metal leaching efficiency etc. Processing of certain effluents and wastewaters comprising of metals is also included in brief. Future directions of research are highlighted. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. How to spend it: Resource wealth and the distribution of resource rents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Segal, Paul

    2012-01-01

    Natural resource revenues differ from other government revenues both in their time profile, and in their political and legal status: they are volatile and exhaustible, and belong to all citizens of the country in which they are located. This paper discusses the theory of natural resource revenues and examines expenditure practices in a range of resource-rich countries. It considers both the distributional impact and the efficiency of expenditure policies, focusing on the extent to which they succeed in providing all citizens with their share of the benefits due to natural resources. - Highlights: ► We examine the relationship between resource rents and government resource revenues. ► We discuss the intertemporal management of resource revenues in theory and in practice. ► We critically examine existing policies for distributing resource revenues to populations.

  3. Development of a clinical information tool for the electronic medical record: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Barbara A; Tannery, Nancy H; Wessel, Charles B; Yarger, Frances; LaDue, John; Fiorillo, Anthony B

    2010-07-01

    What is the process of developing a clinical information tool to be embedded in the electronic health record of a very large and diverse academic medical center? The development took place at the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System. The clinical information tool developed is a search box with subject tabs to provide quick access to designated full-text information resources. Each subject tab offers a federated search of a different pool of resources. Search results are organized "on the fly" into meaningful categories using clustering technology and are directly accessible from the results page. After more than a year of discussion and planning, a clinical information tool was embedded in the academic medical center's electronic health record. The library successfully developed a clinical information tool, called Clinical-e, for use at the point of care. Future development will refine the tool and evaluate its impact and effectiveness.

  4. Amarillo National Resource Center for Plutonium. Quarterly technical progress report, May 1--July 31, 1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-09-01

    Progress is reported on research projects related to the following: Electronic resource library; Environment, safety, and health; Communication, education, training, and community involvement; Nuclear and other materials; and Reporting, evaluation, monitoring, and administration. Technical studies investigate remedial action of high explosives-contaminated lands, radioactive waste management, nondestructive assay methods, and plutonium processing, handling, and storage.

  5. Electronic emission and electron guns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, Amitava

    2010-01-01

    This paper reviews the process of electron emission from metal surface. Although electrons move freely in conductors like metals, they normally do not leave the metal without some manipulation. In fact, heating and bombardment are the two primary ways in which electrons are emitted through the use of a heating element behind the cathode (termed thermionic emission) or as a result of bombardment with a beam of electrons, ions, or metastable atoms (termed secondary emission). Another important emission mechanism called Explosive Electron Emission (EEE) is also often used in various High Voltage Pulse Power Systems to generate very high current (few hundreds of kA) pulsed electron beams. The electron gun is the device in that it shoots off a continuous (or pulsed) stream of electrons. A brief idea about the evolution of the electron gun components and their basis of functioning are also discussed. (author)

  6. Expanding Roles and Resources: Assessing the Collaboration between Florida Atlantic University Libraries and Taras Oceanographic Foundation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrieta, Diane; Brunnick, Barbara; Plocharczyk, Leah

    2015-01-01

    As academic libraries struggle to remain relevant when technological advancements and electronic resources threaten to make them obsolete, libraries are learning to re-invent themselves by molding and adapting staff skills to cultivate innovative outreach programs. The Science Outreach Committee of the John D. MacArthur Campus library at Florida…

  7. A resource guide to nuclear plant life-cycle management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negin, C.A.; Klein, D.J.

    1993-11-01

    Forecasting the useful economic life of a nuclear unit and addressing the complementary issue of license renewal, both key elements of life cycle management, are complex undertakings. This guide is a resource document emphasizing the technical elements of life cycle management (LCM) with focus on the determination of adequate maintenance programs and the identification of data and records necessary to support them. Information on other life cycle management issues, such as license renewal regulation, is also provided. Because of the volume of information required for LCM evaluations and the need for periodic updating, this Guide is presented as an updatable ''electronic book.''

  8. A national facility for biological cryo-electron microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saibil, Helen R.; Grünewald, Kay; Stuart, David I.

    2015-01-01

    This review provides a brief update on the use of cryo-electron microscopy for integrated structural biology, along with an overview of the plans for the UK national facility for electron microscopy being built at the Diamond synchrotron. Three-dimensional electron microscopy is an enormously powerful tool for structural biologists. It is now able to provide an understanding of the molecular machinery of cells, disease processes and the actions of pathogenic organisms from atomic detail through to the cellular context. However, cutting-edge research in this field requires very substantial resources for equipment, infrastructure and expertise. Here, a brief overview is provided of the plans for a UK national three-dimensional electron-microscopy facility for integrated structural biology to enable internationally leading research on the machinery of life. State-of-the-art equipment operated with expert support will be provided, optimized for both atomic-level single-particle analysis of purified macromolecules and complexes and for tomography of cell sections. The access to and organization of the facility will be modelled on the highly successful macromolecular crystallography (MX) synchrotron beamlines, and will be embedded at the Diamond Light Source, facilitating the development of user-friendly workflows providing near-real-time experimental feedback

  9. Utilization and Impact of Electronic and Print Media on the Patients’ Health Status: Physicians’ Perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Shakeel, Sadia; Nesar, Shagufta; Rahim, Najia; Iffat, Wajiha; Ahmed, Hafiza Fouzia; Rizvi, Mehwish; Jamshed, Shazia

    2017-01-01

    Aims: Despite an increased popularity of print and electronic media applications, there is a paucity of data reflecting doctors’ opinions regarding efficient utilization of these resources for the betterment of public health. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the perception of physicians toward the effect of electronic and print media on the health status of patients. Setting and Design: The current research is a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2015 to July 2015. The study p...

  10. Utilization and impact of electronic and print media on the patients’ health status: Physicians’ perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Sadia Shakeel; Shagufta Nesar; Najia Rahim; Wajiha Iffat; Hafiza Fouzia Ahmed; Mehwish Rizvi; Shazia Jamshed

    2017-01-01

    Aims: Despite an increased popularity of print and electronic media applications, there is a paucity of data reflecting doctors’ opinions regarding efficient utilization of these resources for the betterment of public health. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the perception of physicians toward the effect of electronic and print media on the health status of patients. Setting and Design: The current research is a cross-sectional study conducted from January 2015 to July 2015. The study p...

  11. The National Site Licensing of Electronic Resources: An Institutional Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaohua Zhu

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available While academic libraries in most countries are struggling to negotiate with publishers and vendors individually or collaboratively via consortia, a few countries have experimented with a different model, national site licensing (NSL. Because NSL often involves government and large-scale collaboration, it has the potential to solve many problems in the complex licensing world. However, not many nations have adopted it. This study uses historical research approach and the comparative case study research method to explore the seemingly low level of adoption. The cases include the Canadian National Site Licensing Project (CNSLP, the United Kingdom’s National Electronic Site Licensing Initiative (NESLI, and the United States, which has not adopted NSL. The theoretical framework guiding the research design and data collection is W. Richard Scott’s institutional theory, which utilizes three supporting pillars—regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive—to analyze institutional processes. In this study, the regulative pillar and the normative pillar of NSL adoption— an institutional construction and change—are examined. Data were collected from monographs, research articles, government documents, and relevant websites. Based on the analysis of these cases, a preliminary model is proposed for the adoption of NSL. The factors that support a country’s adoption of NSL include the need for new institutions, a centralized educational policy-making system and funding system, supportive political trends, and the tradition of cooperation. The factors that may prevent a country from adopting NSL include decentralized educational policy and funding, diversity and the large number of institutions, the concern for the “Big Deal,” and the concern for monopoly.

  12. World resources: engineering solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1976-01-01

    The proceedings include 10 papers that contribute to population environment; fossil fuel resources and energy conservation; nuclear and solar power; production of ores and manufacture and use of metallic resources; resources of manufactured and natural nonmetallic materials; water as a reusable resource; and timber as a replaceable resource.

  13. Semantic distributed resource discovery for multiple resource providers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pittaras, C.; Ghijsen, M.; Wibisono, A.; Grosso, P.; van der Ham, J.; de Laat, C.

    2012-01-01

    An emerging modus operandi among providers of cloud infrastructures is the one where they share and combine their heterogenous resources to offer end user services tailored to specific scientific and business needs. A challenge to overcome is the discovery of suitable resources among these multiple

  14. A taxonomy of green supply chain management capability among electronics-related manufacturing firms in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Kuo-Chung; Lu, Chin-Shan; Li, Shaorui

    2010-05-01

    This study investigated crucial green supply chain management (GSCM) capability dimensions and firm performance based on electronics-related manufacturing firms in Taiwan. On the basis of a factor analysis, six green supply chain management dimensions were identified: green manufacturing and packaging, environmental participation, green marketing, green suppliers, green stock, and green eco-design. According to their factor scores in the GSCM dimensions, a cluster analysis subsequently assigned responding firms into four groups, namely, the weak GSCM oriented group, the green marketing oriented group, the green supplier oriented group, and the green stock oriented group. Differences in firm performance and GSCM dimensions among groups were examined. Results indicated that the green marketing oriented group performed best. Based on the resource-based view (RBV), the capability of the green marketing oriented group was considered to be the deployment of a collection of resources that enables it to successfully compete against rivals. The importance of green marketing as a GSCM capability and strategic asset/critical resources for electronics-related manufacturing firms to obtain a competitive edge is therefore highlighted in this study. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Electronic medical records in diabetes consultations: participants' gaze as an interactional resource.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhodes, Penny; Small, Neil; Rowley, Emma; Langdon, Mark; Ariss, Steven; Wright, John

    2008-09-01

    Two routine consultations in primary care diabetes clinics are compared using extracts from video recordings of interactions between nurses and patients. The consultations were chosen to present different styles of interaction, in which the nurse's gaze was either primarily toward the computer screen or directed more toward the patient. Using conversation analysis, the ways in which nurses shift both gaze and body orientation between the computer screen and patient to influence the style, pace, content, and structure of the consultation were investigated. By examining the effects of different levels of engagement between the electronic medical record and the embodied patient in the consultation room, we argue for the need to consider the contingent nature of the interface of technology and the person in the consultation. Policy initiatives designed to deliver what is considered best-evidenced practice are modified in the micro context of the interactions of the consultation.

  16. Card - Electronic Money. Comparative Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Rodica TIRLEA

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This type of coin and appeared as a result of the needs for a proper management of the financial resources available in the market, but also to improve the payments system in our country. The card is an alternative to the conventional instruments of payment is a payment instrument with and without cash by means of which the holder disposes of the current account. It is a standardized, secure information and individualized, through which you can perform operations of cash withdrawal, payment for the goods or services purchased, payment obligations by the public administration authorities and funds transfers between accounts, other than those ordered and executed by financial institutions, carried out through the electronic payment instrument.

  17. Competition over personal resources favors contribution to shared resources in human groups.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica L Barker

    Full Text Available Members of social groups face a trade-off between investing selfish effort for themselves and investing cooperative effort to produce a shared group resource. Many group resources are shared equitably: they may be intrinsically non-excludable public goods, such as vigilance against predators, or so large that there is little cost to sharing, such as cooperatively hunted big game. However, group members' personal resources, such as food hunted individually, may be monopolizable. In such cases, an individual may benefit by investing effort in taking others' personal resources, and in defending one's own resources against others. We use a game theoretic "tug-of-war" model to predict that when such competition over personal resources is possible, players will contribute more towards a group resource, and also obtain higher payoffs from doing so. We test and find support for these predictions in two laboratory economic games with humans, comparing people's investment decisions in games with and without the options to compete over personal resources or invest in a group resource. Our results help explain why people cooperatively contribute to group resources, suggest how a tragedy of the commons may be avoided, and highlight unifying features in the evolution of cooperation and competition in human and non-human societies.

  18. Parallel power electronics filters in three-phase four-wire systems principle, control and design

    CERN Document Server

    Wong, Man-Chung; Lam, Chi-Seng

    2016-01-01

    This book describes parallel power electronic filters for 3-phase 4-wire systems, focusing on the control, design and system operation. It presents the basics of power-electronics techniques applied in power systems as well as the advanced techniques in controlling, implementing and designing parallel power electronics converters. The power-quality compensation has been achieved using active filters and hybrid filters, and circuit models, control principles and operational practice problems have been verified by principle study, simulation and experimental results. The state-of-the-art research findings were mainly developed by a team at the University of Macau. Offering background information and related novel techniques, this book is a valuable resource for electrical engineers and researchers wanting to work on energy saving using power-quality compensators or renewable energy power electronics systems. .

  19. Management of Bartholin's cyst and abscess using the Word catheter: implementation, recurrence rates and costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reif, Philipp; Ulrich, Daniela; Bjelic-Radisic, Vesna; Häusler, Martin; Schnedl-Lamprecht, Elke; Tamussino, Karl

    2015-07-01

    Bartholin's cysts and abscesses occur in about 2% of women. None of the surgical or conservative treatment approaches have been proven to be superior. The Word catheter is an outpatient treatment option, but little is known about aspects of implementing this therapy in an office setting. The present study's focus is on recurrence rates and organizational requirements of implementing outpatient treatment of Bartholin's cyst and abscess and compares costs of Word catheter treatment and marsupialization. Between March 2013 and May 2014 30 women were included in the study. We measured time consumed for treatment and follow-up and analyzed costs using the Word catheter and marsupialization under general anesthesia. We also assessed the ease of use of the Word catheter for application and removal using a standardized visual analog scale (VAS 1-10). Word catheter treatment was successful in 26/30 cases (87%). Balloon loss before the end of the 4-week treatment period occurred in 11/26 cases with a mean residence time of 19.1 (±10.0) days. None of the patients with early catheter loss developed recurrent cyst or abscess. Recurrence occurred in 1/26 cases (3.8%). Difficulty-score of application was 2 [1-10] and of removal 1 [1], respectively. Costs were € 216 for the treatment in the clinic as compared with € 1584/€ 1282 for surgical marsupialization with a one-night stay or daycare clinic, respectively. The present study indicates that the Word catheter is an easy to handle, low cost outpatient procedure with acceptable short-term recurrence rates. Treatment costs are seven times lower than for marsupialization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program—Mineral resource science supporting informed decisionmaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkins, Aleeza M.; Doebrich, Jeff L.

    2016-09-19

    The USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP) delivers unbiased science and information to increase understanding of mineral resource potential, production, and consumption, and how mineral resources interact with the environment. The MRP is the Federal Government’s sole source for this mineral resource science and information. Program goals are to (1) increase understanding of mineral resource formation, (2) provide mineral resource inventories and assessments, (3) broaden knowledge of the effects of mineral resources on the environment and society, and (4) provide analysis on the availability and reliability of mineral supplies.