Biological Engineering

An investigation of the electrochemical activity of human white blood cells (WBC) for biofuel cell (BFC) applications is described. WBCs isolated from whole human blood were suspended in PBS and introduced into the anode compartment of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The cathode compartment contained a 50 mM potassium ferricyanide solution. Average current densities between 0.9 and 1.6 μA cm-2 and open circuit potentials (Voc) between 83 and 102 mV were obtained, which were both higher than control values. Cyclic voltammetry was used to investigate the electrochemical activity of the activated WBCs in an attempt to elucidate the mechanism of electron transfer between the cells and electrode. Voltammograms were obtained for the WBCs, including peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs - a lymphocyte-monocyte mixture isolated on a Ficoll gradient), a B lymphoblastoid cell line (BLCL), and two leukemia cell lines, namely K562 and Jurkat. An oxidation peak at about 363 mV vs...

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

Background: Inducible promoters are widely spread genetic tools for triggering, tuning and optimizing the expression of recombinant genes in engineered biological systems. Most of them are controlled by the addition of a specific exogenous chemical inducer that indirectly regulates the promoter transcription rate in a concentration-dependent fashion. In order to have a robust and predictable degree of control on promoter activity, the degradation rate of such chemicals should be considered in many applications like recombinant protein production.

γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) causes retrograde amnesia in juveniles and young adults. Earlier, we have reported that in adolescent rat, GHB impairs the hidden platform task performance in the Morris water maze. In the present study, a classical fear conditioning paradigm was used to examine the effects of GHB on the acquisition of contextual conditioning, a hippocampus-dependent associative task, and cued tone conditioning, a hippocampus-independent task, in adolescent rats. Administration of GHB before the presentation of tone-shock pairings dose-dependently disrupted the acquisition of contextual conditioning with no effect on tone conditioning, when conditioned fear was measured 24 h later. Administering GHB prior to testing did not disrupt either contextual or tone conditioning. These results demonstrate that in the adolescent rat exposure to GHB preferentially disrupt hippocampal-dependent learning.

Synthetic biology is a diverse jungle of techno-epistemic approaches arising from a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines. However, the field is also seeking to promote a unique identity along a disciplinary framework, and its supporters seem quite uncomfortable with the coexistence of multiple definitions, approaches, and aspirations of synthetic biology. They generate unfortunate divisions that may impede the advancement of synthetic biology and deteriorate its public image. This chapter addresses this paradox of a multidisciplinary field obsessed with the question of its unity. I lean on a close reading of a Special Issue of the journal Nature entitled “Beyond divisions: Building the future of synthetic biology” (May 2014) and contrast it with the results of a workshop with synthetic biologists entitled “Worldviews and Values in Synthetic Biology” held in Paris in June 2014. I also use the first issue of Nature Nanotechnology (2006) as an instructive counterpoint. I argue that far to be driven by traditional disciplinary norms and ethos, the calls to unify synthetic biology pertain to funding, industrialization and market imperatives. Above all, I show how they are based on and perpetuate the view of the public as a threat. I conclude with a plea to value and publicly expose the epistemic as well as cultural diversity of synthetic biology.

Two bed media were tested (gravel and Filtralite) in shallow horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetlands in order to evaluate the removal of ammonia and nitrate for different types of wastewater (acetate-based and domestic wastewater) and different COD/N ratios. The use of Filtralite allowed both higher mass removal rates (1.1 g NH4–N m2 d1 and 3 g NO3–N m2 d1) and removal efficiencies (>62% for ammonia, 90–100% for nitrate), in less than 2 weeks, when compared to the ones observed with gravel. The COD/N ratio seems to have no significant influence on nitrate removal and the removal of both ammonia and nitrate seems to have involved not only the conventional pathways of nitrification–denitrification. The nitrogen loading rate of both ammonia (0.8–2.4 g NH4–N m2 d1) and nitrate (0.6–3.2 g NO3–N m2 d1) seem to have influenced the respective removal rates.

This research work evaluates the impact of stormwater infiltration on the removal of organics, solids, nitrogen and phosphorus in a LECA-based horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland. Stormwater runoff for the period between January 2008 and June 2010 (30 months) was estimated for the drainage basin of the Vila Fernando wastewater treatment plant (constructed wetland system) and it was observed proportionality between the increase in surface runoff and the infiltration flow rate that reached the plant. The average stormwater infiltration rate that reached the plant was 67.4 m(3) d(-1) (77% of the influent flow rate into the plant). The 30 month monitoring campaign set up at one of the reed beds showed that stormwater infiltration led to a high variation of the hydraulic loading rate (HLR) throughout the bed, which affected its performance in the removal of organic matter, suspended solids and nitrogen. For a HLR below 20 cm d-1 the removal efficiencies for BOD5, COD and TSS doubled. The removal of nitrogen was too low and was associated with the weak development of nitrifying biofilm and the poor growth of reeds. However, it was observed a good relationship between the applied and removed loads for most of the parameters, which seems to indicate that the organic, solid, nitrogen and phosphorus loading rates influenced the respective removal rates. The use of a bed material with high specific surface area, such as LECA, can only improve the treatment capacity of horizontal subsurface flow systems if the organic and solid loading rates, as well as the HLR, can be effectively controlled.

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

Biological engineering is a field of engineering in which the emphasis is on life and life-sustaining systems. Biological engineering is an emerging discipline that encompasses engineering theory and practice connected to and derived from the science of biology. The most important trend in biological engineering is the dynamic range of scales at which biotechnology is now able to integrate with biological processes. An explosion in micro/nanoscale technology is allowing the manufacture of nanoparticles for drug delivery into cells, miniaturized implantable microsensors for medical diagnostics, and micro-engineered robots for on-board tissue repairs. This book aims to provide an updated overview of the recent developments in biological engineering from diverse aspects and various applications in clinical and experimental research.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to better understand the current dynamics of the Malaysian market for smartphone and the usage behaviors of consumers. This paper presents the result of a survey on the trend of smartphone from the perspective of end consumers. The data was collected from 1814 respondents across major cities in Malaysia. This study has looked into the familiarity of users towards smartphones, choices of smartphone brand and service providers, and most importantly the determinants that influence their purchasing decision. Additionally, the consumers' preferences on smartphone specifications such as design, computing power, operating platform, and price were investigated. Furthermore, consumers' usage behaviors such as using smartphone for email, web browsing, gaming, and document reading were examined. The statistics presented provides fundamental information regarding the trends in the smartphone market and usage behaviors in Malaysia. Such information are useful for academics for the development of future works in the field, whereas for smartphone manufacturers, application developers and other stakeholders, they are able to plan their direction in the Malaysian smartphone market.

Most of the wastewater treatment systems in small rural communities of the Cova da Beira region (Portugal) consist of constructed wetlands (CW) with horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF). It is believed that those systems allow the compliance of discharge standards as well as the production of final effluents with suitability for reuse. Results obtained in a nine-month campaign in an HSSF bed pointed out that COD and TSS removal were lower than expected. A discrete sampling also showed that removal of TC, FC and HE was not enough to fulfill international irrigation goals. However, the bed had a very good response to variation of incoming nitrogen loads presenting high removal of nitrogen forms. A good correlation between mass load and mass removal rate was observed for BOD5, COD, TN, NH4-N, TP and TSS, which shows a satisfactory response of the bed to the variable incoming loads. The entrance of excessive loads of organic matter and solids contributed for the decrease of the effective v...

The ISO 9001 (2000) define "Quality" as the ability of a set of inherent properties and characteristics of a product, system or process to fulfill requirements of customers and other interested parties. The "Plan de Calidad de Obra (PCO)" is an instrument that follows to get the necessary quality in Civil Works contracts. Graphical documentation generated during construction project elaboration or even during Civil Engineering works execution with planes, makes obligatory a meticulous treatment of this information that results transcendental in the consecution of the definitive products (projects or works) quality objective. In this work it's shown the principal graphical documentation procedures defined in the PCO attending to the edition, modification, distribution, storage, and other relevant aspects related to graphical information.

For years, the field of drug delivery has focused on (1) controlling the release of a therapeutic and (2) targeting the therapeutic to a specific cell type. These research endeavors have concentrated mainly on the development of new degradable polymers and molecule-labeled drug delivery vehicles. Recent interest in biomaterials that respond to their environment have opened new methods to trigger the release of drugs and localize the therapeutic within a particular site. These novel biomaterials, usually termed "smart" or "intelligent", are able to deliver a therapeutic agent based on either environmental cues or a remote stimulus. Stimuli-responsive materials could potentially elicit a therapeutically effective dose without adverse side effects. Polymers responding to different stimuli, such as pH, light, temperature, ultrasound, magnetism, or biomolecules have been investigated as potential drug delivery vehicles. This review describes the most recent advances in "smart" drug delivery systems that respond to one or multiple stimuli.

The U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) recently published a document presenting "Grand Challenges for Engineering". This list was proposed by leading engineers and scientists from around the world at the request of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Fourteen topics were selected for these grand challenges, and at least seven can be addressed using the tools and methods of biological engineering. Here we describe how biological engineers can address the challenge of providing access to clean drinking water. This issue must be addressed in part by removing or inactivating microbial and chemical contaminants in order to properly deliver water safe for human consumption. Despite many advances in technologies this challenge is expanding due to increased pressure on fresh water supplies and to new opportunities for growth of potentially pathogenic organisms.

We discuss interconnect parasitic extraction in the nanometer domain using the ITRS 2005 roadmap for future technology generations. Resistance becomes the dominant contribution for timing for local wires at 65 nm and beyond, a major qualitative change. For scaled wires, maintaining global wire routes within 1 clock period is expensive in terms of power consumption. An acceptable solution involves reverse scaling of global wires leading to RLC transmission line behavior which results in significant power savings. RLC transmission for scaled signal wires is otherwise negligible.

Ralph Brothers' parents both died of acute myocardial infarctions at an early age. Ralph inherited dyslipidemia and glucose intolerance, and his blood pressure is above normal. Determined to prevent an early death, he has altered his diet, initiated regular exercise, purchased glucose and blood pressure monitoring devices, and he also takes blood pressure medications regularly. He has a happy family and work life with a comfortable income.

A strategy for adaptive control and energetic optimization of aerobic fermentors was implemented, with both air flow and agitation speed as manipulated variables. This strategy is separable in its components: control, optimization, estimation. We optimized parameter’s estimation (from the usual KLa correlation) using sinusoidal excitation of air flow and agitation speed. We have implemented parameter’s estimation trough recursive least squares algorithm with forgetting factor. We carried separate essays on control, optimization and estimation algorithms. We carried our essays using an original computational simulation environment, with noise and delay generating facilities for data sampling and filtering.

Our results show the convergence and robustness of the estimation algorithm used, improved with use of both forgetting factor and KLa dead-band facilities. Control algorithm used in our work compares favorably with PID using the integrated area criteria for deviation between oxygen molarity and critical molarity (set point). Optimization algorithm clearly reduces energetic consumption, respecting critical molarity. Integration of control, optimization and adaptive algorithms was implemented, but future work is needed for stability. Methods were defined and implemented for stability improvement. We have implemented data acquisition and computer manipulation of air flow and agitation speed for actual fermentors.

Schizophrenia, a problem in how brains function, is characterized by thoughts or experiences that seem out of touch with reality, disorganized speech or behavior, and decreased participation in daily activities and difficulty with concentration and memory may also be present. In a research paper, David Icke discusses the monoatomic gold by ancient pharaohs in order to increase the processing capacity of their brains.

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

The Hamiltonian Path Problem asks whether there is a route in a directed graph from a beginning node to an ending node, visiting each node exactly once. The Hamiltonian Path Problem is NP complete, achieving surprising computational complexity with modest increases in size. This challenge has inspired researchers to broaden the definition of a computer. DNA computers have been developed that solve NP complete problems. Bacterial computers can be programmed by constructing genetic circuits to execute an algorithm that is responsive to the environment and whose result can be observed. Each bacterium can examine a solution to a mathematical problem and billions of them can explore billions of possible solutions. Bacterial computers can be automated, made responsive to selection, and reproduce themselves so that more processing capacity is applied to problems over time.

Internet addiction disorder (IAD) has been proposed to describe uncontrollable, damaging use of Internet technology leading to some changes in the autonomic nervous system. IAD can be defined as an impulse-control disorder that does not involve an intoxicant. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) does not recognize it as a disease but the new approach of research domain criteria (RDoC) considers re-evaluating DSM because of the change in global prevalence of IAD from 0.3% to 38%. Treatment of IAD is still unsolved due to the lack of concrete evidence, knowledge, and information about the disease. Some therapeutic examples are medications and psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The CBT approach addresses dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviors and cognitive processes. Modified CBT is used for the treatment of IAD but better results are observed when it is combined with other therapies. This commentary is based on full research papers and some specific case reports recording CBT as the treatment for IAD. PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink are the databases used for this commentary. More exhaustive research is needed in this field as to confirm the etiology of IAD and its intervention with CBT.

Papain (PAP) merupakan salah satu enzim yang sering digunakan untuk berbagai keperluan, salah satunya untuk melunakkan daging. Selain itu biasa pula sebagai obat penyembuh luka, peradangan, dan lain-lain. Namun, konsentrasinya yang sangat rendah dari sumber asalnya yaitu getah papaya, menjadikan proses pemisahan dan isolasi bahan tersebut sangatlah penting. Selama ini, metode pemisahan yang dilakukan masih belum optimum, karena masih terdapat banyak zat pengotor lain berupa enzim protease. Hal ini menjadikan tingkat kemurnian dari papain cukup rendah. Oleh karena itu, perlu dilakukan upaya pemurnian atau purifikasi yang lebih baik, untuk menghasilkan enzim papain murni yang dapat dimanfaatkan untuk berbagai keperluan. Salah satunya dengan aplikasi teknik presipitasi menggunakan penambahan garam (salting out) yang dalam percobaan kali ini digunakan garam dan polimer polivinilsulfonat (PVS). Kelebihan teknik ini adalah biaya yang cukup rendah dan operasi yang mudah. Keberadaan garam dan polimer pada larutan menyebabkan terbentuknya kompleks insoluble PAP-PVS di dalam campuran. Didapatkan hasil recovery dari penambahan polimer untuk presipitasi terhadap larutan PAP sebanyak 91,12%, sementara untuk larutan lateks dari Carica papaya, recovery yang diperoleh adalah 86,98% dan faktor pemurniannya (purification factor) adalah 2,08. Usaha untuk mengaplikasikan teknik presipitasi tersebut agar dapat dimanfaatkan secara besar adalah dengan melakukan kauntifikasi beberapa parameter dan melakukan penghitungan untuk scale-up. Sehingga aplikasi dari presipitasi protein, dalam hal ini papain dapat dimanfaatkan secara luas.

Kata Kunci: Papain, Presipitasi, Poli(vini-sulfonat), Scale-up

The communication of stress/anxiety between conspecifics through chemosensory signals has been documented in many vertebrates and invertebrates. Here, we investigate how chemosensory anxiety signals conveyed by the sweat of humans (N = 49) awaiting an academic examination are processed by the human brain, as compared to chemosensory control signals obtained from the same sweat donors in a sport condition. The chemosensory stimuli were pooled according to the donation condition and administered to 28 participants (14 males) synchronously to breathing via an olfactometer. The stimuli were perceived with a low intensity and accordingly only about half of the odor presentations were detected by the participants. The fMRI results (event-related design) show that chemosensory anxiety signals activate brain areas involved in the processing of social emotional stimuli (fusiform gyrus), and in the regulation of empathic feelings (insula, precuneus, cingulate cortex). In addition, neuronal activity within attentional (thalamus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex) and emotional (cerebellum, vermis) control systems were observed. The chemosensory perception of human anxiety seems to automatically recruit empathy-related resources. Even though the participants could not attentively differentiate the chemosensory stimuli, emotional contagion seems to be effectively mediated by the olfactory system.

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

Tissue engineering, as an interdisciplinary approach, is seeking to create tissues with optimal performance for clinical applications. Various factors, including cells, biomaterials, cell or tissue culture conditions and signaling molecules such as growth factors, play a vital role in the engineering of tissues. In vivo microenvironment of cells imposes complex and specific stimuli on the cells, and has a direct effect on cellular behavior, including proliferation, differentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) assembly. Therefore, to create appropriate tissues, the conditions of the natural environment around the cells should be well imitated. Therefore, researchers are trying to develop biomimetic scaffolds that can produce appropriate cellular responses. To achieve this, we need to know enough about biomimetic materials. Scaffolds made of biomaterials in musculoskeletal tissue engineering should also be multifunctional in order to be able to function better in mechanical properti...

Background: Cyanobacteria are solar-powered prokaryotes useful for sustainable production of valuable molecules, but orthogonal and regulated promoters are lacking. The Lac repressor (LacI) from Escherichia coli is a well-studied transcription factor that is orthogonal to cyanobacteria and represses transcription by binding a primary lac operator (lacO), blocking RNA-polymerase. Repression can be enhanced through DNA-looping, when a LacI-tetramer binds two spatially separated lacO and loops the DNA. Ptrc is a commonly used LacI-repressed promoter that is inefficiently repressed in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803. Ptrc2O, a version of Ptrc with two lacO, is more efficiently repressed, indicating DNA-looping. To investigate the inefficient repression of Ptrc and cyanobacterial DNA-looping, we designed a Ptrc-derived promoter library consisting of single lacO promoters, including a version of Ptrc with a stronger lacO (Ptrc1O-proximal), and dual lacO promoters with varying inter-lacO distances (the Ptrc2O-library).

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

Two bed media were tested (gravel and Filtralite) in shallow horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetlands in order to evaluate the removal of ammonia and nitrate for different types of wastewater (acetate-based and domestic wastewater) and different COD/N ratios. The use of Filtralite allowed both higher mass removal rates (1.1 g NH 4 -N m À2 d À1 and 3 g NO 3 -N m À2 d À1 ) and removal efficiencies (>62% for ammonia, 90-100% for nitrate), in less than 2 weeks, when compared to the ones observed with gravel. The COD/N ratio seems to have no significant influence on nitrate removal and the removal of both ammonia and nitrate seems to have involved not only the conventional pathways of nitrification-denitrification. The nitrogen loading rate of both ammonia (0.8-2.4 g NH 4 -N m À2 d À1 ) and nitrate (0.6-3.2 g NO 3 -N m À2 d À1 ) seem to have influenced the respective removal rates.

This paper is an attempt to develop software framework for public library based and Webenabled multilingual community information services by utilizing open standards and open source software. It uses GSDL as DL software, PERL, PHP and Java as programming environment, Unicode as character encoding standard, SeamlessUK Application Profile as metadata schema, RFC-2731 as metadata encoding standard, and an array of FLOSS based multilingual tools for designing Bengali script based user interface, processing and retrieval environment.

The southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is a riparian bird that spends winter months in Central and South America and summer breeding months in riparian zones of the American Southwest. Decline of the willow flycatcher population to less than 1000 breeding pairs prompted the Federal government to declare the species endangered, triggering a major recovery effort. The most important aspect of recovery is management and improvement of the riparian habitat of the bird population. Although the direct management of the species is primarily a biological issue, fluvial hydrology and geomorphology play an important role in understanding the dynamics of the present bird population and in designing a recovery plan because these physical systems are the substrates for the living communities which include the birds. Contributions of geomorphology and hydrology to the recovery plan include the use of watersheds and river basins as planning and evaluation units; understanding the connections between fluvial forms and riparian vegetation; implications for the bird population of the magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, and rate of change for various river discharges. The installation and operation of dams are the most important causes of hydro-geomorphic and ecological change in the region, so that management of these structures offers primary opportunities to improve the physical and biological conditions for the endangered species. D

We aimed to determine the effectiveness of a lay-administered tailored education and coaching (TEC) intervention (aimed at reducing pain misconceptions and enhancing self-efficacy for communicating with physicians) on cancer pain severity, pain-related impairment, and quality of life. Cancer patients with baseline ''worst pain'' of P4 on a 0-10 scale or at least moderate functional impairment due to pain were randomly assigned to TEC or enhanced usual care (EUC) during a telephone interview conducted in advance of a planned oncology office visit (265 patients randomized to TEC or EUC; 258 completed at least one follow-up). Patients completed questionnaires before and after the visit and were interviewed by telephone at 2, 6, and 12 weeks. Mixed effects regressions were used to evaluate the intervention adjusting for patient, practice, and site characteristics. Compared to EUC, TEC was associated with increased pain communication self-efficacy after the intervention (P < .001); both groups showed significant (P < .0001), similar, reductions in pain misconceptions. At 2 weeks, assignment to TEC was associated with improvement in pain-related impairment (À0.25 points on a 5-point scale, 95% confidence interval À0.43 to À0.06, P = .01) but not in pain severity (À0.21 points on an 11-point scale, À0.60 to 0.17, P = .27). The improvement in pain-related impairment was not sustained at 6 and 12 weeks. There were no significant intervention by subgroup interactions (P > .10). We conclude that TEC, compared with EUC, resulted in improved pain communication self-efficacy and temporary improvement in pain-related impairment, but no improvement in pain severity. Ó

This study examines the Prophetic tradition in Akidah or Islamic belief through the book of Sahih Bukhari which the Prophet Muhammad PBUH gave direction to educate the people by mentioning and promising the rewards (al-thawab) and punishments (al-iqab) that aiming at making the people active in persuading and what sort of rewards and punishments were mentioned that motivate the Muslims to do good deeds and stay away from negative behaviors. In fact, peace, tranquility, nobility and real greatness at home and street, in this world and the hereafter can be achieved by following his noble life and teachings. A textual and critical analysis of hadith referred to Chapter of Behavior (Kitab al-Adab) will be utilized to demonstrate the application of hadith pertaining to human behavior. The ideas presented could be further developed and appreciated by the society in related discipline in order to address contemporary challenges in understanding for future human living prospects.

Different loading conditions are probable in many of the applications where fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites find use as potential and promising materials. Experimental studies have been carried out to study the effects of thermal ageing on mechanical behavior of glass fiber/epoxy composites. The inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) is found to be affected by this conditioning. A change in loading rate may result in variation of failure modes.

The San Pedro River in the southwestern United States retains a natural flood regime and has several reaches with perennial stream flow and shallow ground water. However, much of the river flows intermittently. Urbanization-linked declines in regional ground-water levels have raised concerns over the future status of the riverine ecosystem in some parts of the river, while restoration-linked decreases in agricultural ground-water pumping are expected to increase stream flows in other parts. This study describes the response of the streamside herbaceous vegetation to changes in stream flow permanence. During the early summer dry season, streamside herbaceous cover and species richness declined continuously across spatial gradients of flow permanence, and composition shifted from hydric to mesic species at sites with more intermittent flow. Hydrologic threshold values were evident for one plant functional group: Schoenoplectus acutus, Juncus torreyi, and other hydric riparian plants declined sharply in cover with loss of perennial stream flow. In contrast, cover of mesic riparian perennials (including Cynodon dactylon, an introduced species) increased at sites with intermittent flow. Patterns of hydric and mesic riparian annuals varied by season: in the early summer dry season their cover declined continuously as flow became more intermittent, while in the late summer wet season their cover increased as the flow became more intermittent. Periodic drought at the intermittent sites may increase opportunities for establishment of these annuals during the monsoonal flood season. During the late summer flood season, stream flow was present at most sites, and fewer vegetation traits were correlated with flow permanence; cover and richness were correlated with other environmental factors including site elevation and substrate nitrate level and particle size. Although perennial-flow and intermittent-flow sites support different streamside plant communities, all of the plant functional groups are abundant at perennial-flow sites when viewing the ecosystem at broader spatial and temporal scales: mesic riparian perennials are common in the floodplain zone adjacent to the river channel and late-summer hydric and mesic annuals are periodically abundant after large floods.