Orange Line Research Articles

The Dudley Bus

The Dudley Bus Martha Collins (bio) cambridge 2019 Harvard Shirt Shop 1885 Tobaccowalkers cell phones tourists now the bus: a dozen preschool kidsboard we circle Harvard Yard turn and pass where I once lived samebuilding bar and into Central more people on the sidewalk here on and offthe bus MIT and over the river and up to Haviland Street where I once lived baron the corner then Dunkin' Donuts now later forgot to mention no mentioned deletedthe people in Harvard Square looked mostly white some Asian occasional Black deletedthe preschool kids looked white-Black-Asian— but maybe noticed more that day because I knewmy ride would end at the first place I'd ever been [End Page 15] where my friend and I were the onlypeople we saw who looked like us— boston 1967 Because we lived just off Mass. Ave., just overthe river, just past the bus stop, because we were youngand new to the city, because we'd had some drinks,we decided to see where Dudley Station wasand got on the bus and rode to the end of the route. And although when we got off the bus we sawno people who looked like us, we found a barand ordered drinks, and when a man politely askedto join us and asked us to come to a party, becausewe were young and new to the city, we said Yes. And because we were young and new, we lovedthe party—the soul food, music, dancing—and stayed till dawn when someone burst in and saida friend had been stabbed, and the party was over. boston 2019 up to Symphony Hall where we used to up to the Orange Line T a Pride flag donde trabajan the woman beside to the Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts once run-down those townhouses now so Medical Center more people off and [End Page 16] soon I'm the only person who looks like Roca: Less Jail, More Future and we are there dudley 2019 got off the bus and walked a littlepast Dunkin' Donuts The SilverSlipper (could it have been here . . . ?)and found the Dudley Cafe since 2015 and ordered a bowl and looked aroundthree women Black with computersconferring two women chattingwho looked like me a dozen teenagedkids Black-white-Asian around one table Need a Printer? Use Ours Black TriviaTuesdays 8–10 and outside the windowbundles balanced on two women's headsa sheer dress an elegant hijab her goldsandals his orange sneakers and shades— boston 2019 Waiting for the return bus I'm again the onlyexcept for a pale woman disheveled uncombed— then a man not sober not young: Anyone botheryou Lady I'll take care— and I'm back on the bus and back at Haviland Street where one night a whiteman followed me home and a Black prostitute put an arm around me: Anyone bother you Honeywe'll take care— on the steps of that building [End Page 17] where Berklee College Professional Writingnow occupies the space where I lived in my young white skin— how well did Itake care how well do I take care of whom Note: In December 2019, the residents of Roxbury voted overwhelmingly to have the name of Dudley Square changed to Nubian Square. [End Page 18] Martha Collins Martha Collins's most recent book of poetry is Because What Else Could I Do (Pittsburgh). She has published nine earlier volumes of poetry, including Admit One: An American Scrapbook (Pittsburgh), White Papers (Pittsburgh), and Blue Front (Graywolf), as well as four volumes of co-translated Vietnamese poetry. Collins founded the Creative Writing Program at University of Massachusetts-Boston and taught Creative Writing at Oberlin College for ten years. Copyright © 2020 University of Nebraska Press

Identification of the H&S (Health and Safety Factors) Involved in Infrastructure Projects in Developing Countries-A Sequential Mixed Method Approach of OLMT-Project.

Urbanization is playing a key role in big cities of developing countries, which, in effect, is increasing the population. This study takes care of the mega infrastructure project (Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT)) to explore and identify the H&S (Health and Safety) factors that affect the local residents and the main key stakeholders working on the project. A Sequential Mixed-Method approach of the OLMT-project includes qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted. The data have been collected from the targeted population working on the OLMT-project through a questionnaire. The main key finding of the study indicates that poor planning and a lack of communication between the public and government led to frustration. The most significant factors that identified in the study were unsafe to work practice, project scope constraints, lack in technical and material support, unsafe/bad condition, health/environment degradation, declination and loss of resources and time, no proper emergency system, and negligence in adopting safety rules and laws. The study also revealed that the consensus should also be noticed between the key stakeholders (e.g., contractors, clients, safety officials, academia) in the second round of the Delphi survey of the project. The study findings will help the key stakeholders to prioritize their energies towards attaining zero levels of inadequate health and safety practices in infrastructure projects. The study outcomes can also be generalized for the other developing countries having a similar work scenario.

Auditory Perceptual History Is Propagated through Alpha Oscillations.

SummaryPerception is a proactive, “predictive” process, in which the brain relies, at least in part, on accumulated experience to make best guesses about the world to test against sensory data, updating the guesses as new experience is acquired. Using novel behavioral methods, the present study demonstrates the role of alpha rhythms in communicating past perceptual experience. Participants were required to discriminate the ear of origin of brief sinusoidal tones that were presented monaurally at random times within a burst of uncorrelated dichotic white noise masks. Performance was not constant but varied with delay after noise onset in an oscillatory manner at about 9 Hz (alpha rhythm). Importantly, oscillations occurred only for trials preceded by a target tone to the same ear, either on the previous trial or two trials back. These results suggest that communication of perceptual history generates neural oscillations within specific perceptual circuits, strongly implicating behavioral oscillations in predictive perception and with formation of working memory.

Mass Selection for Fast Growth in the Third Generation of the Orange Line of the Manila Clam Ruditapes philippinarum

The Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum is natively distributed along the Pacific coast of Asia, where it is one of the most important bivalve species for local fisheries. This species has been intentionally introduced due to its high adaptability to various coastal environments and is currently widely cultivated in Europe and North America. We have initiated a selective breeding program to improve the growth rate of the Manila clam since 2007, and a full-sib family with orange shell color was selected. This family features high survival but slow growth. Thereafter, two generations of mass selection were conducted in this family by 10% upward selection for faster growth. In 2011, three types of lines were produced by selecting the breeder from the second-generation of selected lines. These lines are SS (subject to three generations of selection for growth in shell length), SC (selected for the second but not the third generation), and C (randomly sampled individuals from the national population). The genetic parameters of the shell length including hR2 (realized heritability), SR (selection response), and GG (genetic gain) were analyzed. Results showed that the shell length of the SS line was significantly larger than those of the SC and C lines at all developmental stages (P < 0.05). For the larval stage, the values of hR2, SR, and GG were 0.42, 0.73, and 6.66, respectively. For the juvenile stage, the values of hR2, SR, and GG were 0.40, 0.69, 21.76, respectively. For grow-out stage, the values of hR2, SR, and GG were 0.48, 0.83, and 18.22, respectively. The results of hR2 indicated the good potential of the SS line in selective breeding. The level of GG improvement was encouraging and consistent with the previous expectations. No inbreeding depressions in the shell length were observed in the SS and SC lines at all sampling days. All of the results indicate that maintaining selection pressure in successive generations may be effective in the selective breeding program of this family.

P2.03-02 A Single Sample Predictor of Transcriptional Lung Adenocarcinoma Subtypes: Predicting Biology and Prognosis

Lung adenocarcinoma accounts for nearly 40% of all lung cancers, thereby representing the major histological subtype. Comprehensive molecular studies have proposed three molecular lung adenocarcinoma subtypes termed the terminal respiratory unit (TRU), proximal-inflammatory (PI), and the proximal-proliferative (PP) subtype based mainly on transcriptional patterns. These subtypes have been linked to molecular characteristics but also to differences in prognosis, favoring the TRU subtype compared to the PI and PP (combined PI and PP = non-TRU) subtypes. However, the method used (nearest centroid classification=NCC) to classify samples into transcriptional subtypes depends on the cohort composition, consequently struggle with e.g. reproducibility and classification of single samples. In this study, we aimed to derive a single sample predictor (SSP) of these subtypes, capable of predicting single samples irrespective of technical platforms and cohort composition. In this study, the gene expression based SSP called “Absolute assignment of breast cancer Intrinsic Molecular Subtype” (AIMS) were trained on a large combined dataset collection (n=1655, 17 datasets) with AC assignment obtained by the NCC method and tested in 5 publicly available gene expression datasets (n=977) with treatment data available. Survival analysis was performed to compare the two classification methods (AIMS vs. NCC) with overall survival (OS) as clinical endpoint. Survival curves were compared using Kaplan-Meier estimates and the log-rank test. Using AIMS, a SSP of lung adenocarcinoma transcriptional biology and prognosis was successfully trained and tested in publicly available gene expression datasets. The majority of the samples were assigned equally by the two methods. However, a minor subset (n=97) of samples were given discordant labels. The derived SSP had an accuracy of 85.5% in 977 independent validation samples for TRU vs non-TRU cases, independent of gene expression platform. Interestingly, the patient group consisting of samples classified as TRU by the NCC method and nonTRU by AIMS (TRU.nonTRU, Fig.1, orange line), showed a survival outcome more similar to the nonTRU patient group. The reverse was observed for the nonTRU. TRU patient group (Fig.1, grey line) with a survival pattern resembling that of the TRU group. Thus, on a survival basis, the discordant samples seems to be more accurately classified by the AIMS method. We present a SSP for proposed transcriptional adenocarcinoma subtypes capable of predicting single samples irrespective of technical platform and cohort composition, thereby overcoming critical limitations in the applicability of gene signatures. The classifier provides refined categorization of patients with respect to prognosis, representing a prognostic predictor in lung adenocarcinoma.

Experimental Determination of the Static Equivalent Pressures of Detonative Explosions of Cyclohexane/O2/N2-Mixtures in Long and Short Pipes (part 1of 3)

Experimental Determination of the Static Equivalent Pressures of Detonative Explosions of Cyclohexane/O₂/N₂-Mixtures in Long and Short Pipes (part 1of 3)

Transcriptome-based analysis of carotenoid accumulation-related gene expression in petals of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L.).

To identify genes associated with carotenoid accumulation in petals of Chinese cabbage, the composition and content of carotenoids were analyzed, and comparative transcriptome sequencing was performed between the yellow flower line, 92S105, and the orange flower line, 94C9. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that petals of 92S105 were high in violaxanthin as well as lutein, whereas petals of 94C9 showed considerable levels of lutein and β-carotene. Transcriptome analysis showed that 3534 and 3833 genes were up- and down-regulated in 94C9, respectively. Among these differentially expressed genes (DEGs), many related to carotenoid accumulation were identified, including 12 carotenoid biosynthesis pathway genes, 4 transcription factor genes, and 1028 specifically expressed genes. β-carotene hydroxylase 1 (BrBCH1), BrBCH2, zeaxanthin epoxidase (BrZEP), and MYB transcription factor gene (BrGAMYB) were down-regulated in petals of 94C9 when compared with petals of 92S105, which caused β-carotene accumulation and may lead to orange petal color in 94C9. Expression levels of 20 DEGs were verified by qPCR and the results were highly consistent with those of transcriptome sequencing. Moreover, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that membrane, binding, and metabolic processes were the most significantly enriched GO terms in cellular component, molecular function, and biological process ontologies, respectively. In conclusion, our study analyzed the differences in composition and content of carotenoids between 92S105 and 94C9 and identified potential candidate genes related to carotenoid accumulation in petals, thereby creating a solid foundation for future studies on the mechanism regulating carotenoid accumulation in petals of Chinese cabbage.

An Algorithm for Early Outbreak Detection in Multiple Data Streams

An Algorithm for Early Outbreak Detection in Multiple Data Streams

Restoration of the donor site in face transplant through reconstruction and printing in third dimension: a form of donor dignity

Introduction: Face transplantation (CT) is a complex and innovative treatment that restores function, aesthetics and allows the social reintegration of patients with severe facial deformities (1). TC involves not only the development of anatomy-surgical techniques, but also the manufacture of a mask congruent with the donor site. Our experience in the manufacture of the mask with a third dimension (3D) technology for the dignification of the donor is presented. Presented at the 3rd World Congress of the UNESCO Chair for Teaching and Research in Digital Anatomy Paris Descartes at Egas Moniz University Institute - Almada, Portugal. Materials and methods: Stereo photometry technology was used, combining the obtention of geometric and photogrammetry calculations. With this, the donor site was scanned in a fraction of a second. Subsequently, various softwares were used, the surface mesh was calculated and a 3D model was generated. It was printed on PLA and ABS materials. Once the physical model was obtained, it was defined artistically. 24 hours later, the “mask” was placed on the donor site. Results: With the use of stereo photometry, the completion times were reduced from 2.5 hours to 1 minute to obtain the model, and 10 minutes to obtain the 3D printing file. The total time was 24 hours, also allowing a process of minimizing invasion for the 3D scanning of the donor site. A mask of punctual proportion was obtained to the donor site while retaining facial features. Figure 1. A,D) 3D facial reconstruction with stereophotometry technique. B,E) Representation of the 3D file optimized for 3D printing. The orange line shows the thickness of the printing layer. C) 3D printed donor site prosthesis, PLA material, unpainted. F) Final prosthesis. G) Donator of facial tissues. H) Dignification of cadaver with 3D printed mask. Figure 2. Venous arcades of the semi-membranosus muscle, bypassing the Hunter canal by their lower arcades (blue dots) connected into the popliteal vein (P) and their higher arcades (green dots) connected into the deep femoral vein.

Synergistic bactericide and antibiotic effects of dimeric, tetrameric, or palindromic peptides containing the RWQWR motif against Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains.

Dimeric and tetrameric peptides derived from LfcinB (20–25): RRWQWR, LfcinB (20–30): RRWQWRMKKLG, LfcinB (17–31): FKARRWQWRMKKLGA, or the palindromic sequence LfcinB (21–25)Pal: RWQWRWQWR were obtained by means of the SPPS-Fmoc/tBu methodology. The antibacterial activity of these molecules was evaluated against Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922 and ATCC 11775), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). The dimer LfcinB (20–25)2: (RRWQWR)2K-Ahx, the tetramer LfcinB (20–25)4: (RRWQWR)4K2-Ahx2-C2, and the palindromic sequence LfcinB (21–25)Pal exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial strains. In all cases, the antibacterial activity was dependent on peptide concentration. The polyvalent molecules LfcinB (20–25)2 and LfcinB (20–25)4 exhibited bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus strains; additionally, this dimer and this tetramer combined with ciprofloxacin exhibited a synergistic antibacterial effect against E. coli ATCC 25922 and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Furthermore, the peptides LfcinB (20–30)4, LfcinB (20–25)4, and LfcinB (21–25)Pal combined with vancomycin exhibited a synergistic antibacterial effect against S. aureus and E. faecalis, respectively. This study showed that polyvalent peptides derived from LfcinB exhibit significant antibacterial activity, suggesting that these peptides could have a therapeutic application. Furthermore, our results suggest that polyvalent peptide synthesis could be considered as an innovative and viable strategy for obtaining promising antimicrobial molecules.

Comment on “Charge Carrier Extraction in Organic Solar Cells Governed by Steady‐State Mobilities”

Comment on “Charge Carrier Extraction in Organic Solar Cells Governed by Steady‐State Mobilities”

There was collusion: Microbes in inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to a group of chronic inflammatory diseases that affect the gastrointestinal tract and includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). UC is restricted to the mucosa of the colon, whereas the lesions in CD are often discontinuous, occur across the entire wall of the organ (transmural), and involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. Infectious etiologies have been investigated since CD was first described in 1932. In their seminal paper, Oppenheimer, Ginzberg, and Crohn describe in detail the culture conditions they used to demonstrate that CD is neither intestinal tuberculosis nor a disease caused by bacterial pathogens [1]. Over the years, the search for infectious causes of IBD has continued and even dabbled in controversy. In 1993, before his foray into the antivaccine movement with studies claiming an association between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, the gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield published that measles virus particles could be found in tissue specimens from CD patients [2]. The results were never reproduced [3]. On the other hand, early life antibiotic usage has been associated with IBD, and somewhat paradoxically, antibiotics are sometimes used as adjunctive treatment in IBD, implicating bacteria in the disease [4]. It has now been over 80 years since CD was described, and the role of microbes in IBD remains unclear. While a single causative agent has remained elusive, the origin of IBD may be explained by an aberrant response to the community of microbes that reside in the gut, the microbiota. Other excellent reviews have articulated how shifts in bacterial communities occur and subsequently sustain IBD. However, this role for the microbiota does not preclude the possibility that specific infectious agents contribute to IBD as key members of the microbiota with a disproportionate effect akin to a pathogen, and nonbacterial agents have not received sufficient consideration. In this pearl, we review the myriad microbes that have been interrogated in patients and laboratory models for their roles in IBD pathogenesis, highlighting the central importance of understanding host–microbe interactions. Infectious triggers The existence of a pathogen trigger is intriguing because the intestinal pathology of IBD is similar to that which occurs during infection by Mycobacterium, Yersinia, Salmonella, Shigella, and Campylobacter species [5]. For instance, CD and intestinal tuberculosis share a predilection for the terminal ileum and the presence of granulomas by histopathology, and Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) causes Johne’s disease in ruminants, which bears a striking resemblance to CD. Multiple groups have tested thousands of IBD samples for MAP without reaching a definitive conclusion [6]. Rather than directly initiating IBD, pathogens may be responsible for exacerbating or sustaining disease. Clostridium difficile colonization and cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation are associated with IBD flares, though likely as a consequence of inflammation or medications. In addition to classical pathogens, commensal organisms with disease-causing potential, referred to as pathobionts, have received attention, including Bacteroides fragilis, Helicobacter hepaticus, and Enterococcus faecalis. In particular, adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) isolated from ileal tissue of CD patients has received attention [7]. AIEC and other Enterobacteriaceae species utilize electron acceptors such as nitrate that are byproducts of the host inflammatory response, which can aggravate inflammation and cause specific disease manifestations, such as colorectal cancer [8, 9]. Targeting the respiratory pathways in pathobionts may be a reasonable intervention strategy [10]. The role of infectious agents may be to incapacitate host protective mechanisms, thereby lowering the threshold for subsequent inflammation to occur (Fig 1). Episodes of acute gastroenteritis, most commonly Salmonella and Campylobacter, precede the onset of IBD in some patients [11]. Interestingly, recurrent cycles of Salmonella infection and resolution in mice lead to chronic intestinal inflammation via loss of a protective mechanism of lipopolysaccharide detoxification [12]. Also, acute infection by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii leads to a break in immune tolerance toward commensal bacteria by inducing the differentiation of microbiota-reactive T cells [13]. Thus, while IBD does not appear to be transmissible, intestinal microbes likely play active roles in inducing IBD. Open in a separate window Fig 1 Model for the role of microbes in IBD pathogenesis. Variable changes to the microbiome, whether by an infectious agent, emergence of a pathobiont, or loss of protective commensals, affect an individual who is susceptible via genetic risk alleles or environmental factors, including diet or lifestyle such as smoking. These episodes cause host responses to the enteric microbes (blue spikes) that over time eventually immobilize host protective mechanisms such that the threshold for intestinal inflammation (orange line) declines to the point of crossing the threshold for symptomatic clinical disease (dashed red line), thereby resulting in IBD. IBD, inflammatory bowel disease.

Unique chromoplast organisation and carotenoid gene expression in carotenoid-rich carrot callus

Main conclusionThe new model orange callus line, similar to carrot root, was rich in carotenoids due to altered expression of some carotenogenesis-associated genes and possessed unique diversity of chromoplast ultrastructure.Callus induced from carrot root segments cultured in vitro is usually pale yellow (p-y) and poor in carotenoids. A unique, non-engineered callus line of dark orange (d-o) colour was developed in this work. The content of carotenoid pigments in d-o callus was at the same level as in an orange carrot storage root and nine-fold higher than in p-y callus. Carotenoids accumulated mainly in abundant crystalline chromoplasts that are also common in carrot root but not in p-y callus. Using transmission electron microscopy, other types of chromoplasts were also found in d-o callus, including membranous chromoplasts rarely identified in plants and not observed in carrot root until now. At the transcriptional level, most carotenogenesis-associated genes were upregulated in d-o callus in comparison to p-y callus, but their expression was downregulated or unchanged when compared to root tissue. Two pathway steps were critical and could explain the massive carotenoid accumulation in this tissue. The geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase gene involved in the biosynthesis of carotenoid precursors was highly expressed, while the β-carotene hydroxylase gene involved in β-carotene conversion to downstream xanthophylls was highly repressed. Additionally, paralogues of these genes and phytoene synthase were differentially expressed, indicating their tissue-specific roles in carotenoid biosynthesis and metabolism. The established system may serve as a novel model for elucidating plastid biogenesis that coincides with carotenogenesis.

Genetic Rescue Reverses Microglial Activation in Preclinical Models of Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Microglia cells (MGCs) play a key role in scavenging pathogens and phagocytosing cellular debris in the central nervous system and retina. Their activation, however, contributes to the progression of multiple degenerative diseases. Given the potential damage created by MGCs, it is important to better understand their mechanism of activation. Here, we explored the role of MGCs in the context of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) by using four independent preclinical mouse models. For therapeutic modeling, tamoxifen-inducible CreER was introduced to explore changes in MGCs when RP progression halted. The phenotypes of the MGCs were observed using live optical coherence tomography, live autofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry. We found that, regardless of genetic background, MGCs were activated in neurodegenerative conditions and migrated beyond the layers where they are typically found to the inner and outer segments, where degeneration was ongoing. Genetic rescue not only halted degeneration but also deactivated MGCs, regardless of whether the intervention occurred at the early, middle, or late stage of the disease. These findings suggest that halting long-term disease progression may be more successful by downregulating MGC activity while co-administering the therapeutic intervention.

Occurrence, distribution and contamination levels of heat-resistant moulds throughout the processing of pasteurized high-acid fruit products

Heat-resistant moulds (HRMs) are well known for their ability to survive pasteurization and spoil high-acid food products, which is of great concern for processors of fruit-based products worldwide. Whilst the majority of the studies on HRMs over the last decades have addressed their inactivation, few data are currently available regarding their contamination levels in fruit and fruit-based products. Thus, this study aimed to quantify and identify heat-resistant fungal ascospores from samples collected throughout the processing of pasteurized high-acid fruit products. In addition, an assessment on the effect of processing on the contamination levels of HRMs in these products was carried out. A total of 332 samples from 111 batches were analyzed from three processing plants (=three processing lines): strawberry puree (n = 88, Belgium), concentrated orange juice (n = 90, Brazil) and apple puree (n = 154, the Netherlands). HRMs were detected in 96.4% (107/111) of the batches and 59.3% (197/332) of the analyzed samples. HRMs were present in 90.9% of the samples from the strawberry puree processing line (1–215 ascospores/100 g), 46.7% of the samples from the orange juice processing line (1–200 ascospores/100 g) and 48.7% of samples from the apple puree processing line (1–84 ascospores/100 g). Despite the high occurrence, the majority (76.8%, 255/332) of the samples were either not contaminated or presented low levels of HRMs (<10 ascospores/100 g). For both strawberry puree and concentrated orange juice, processing had no statistically significant effect on the levels of HRMs (p > 0.05). On the contrary, a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in HRMs levels was observed during the processing of apple puree. Twelve species were identified belonging to four genera - Byssochlamys, Aspergillus with Neosartorya-type ascospores, Talaromyces and Rasamsonia. N. fumigata (23.6%), N. fischeri (19.1%) and B. nivea (5.5%) were the predominant species in pasteurized products. The quantitative data (contamination levels of HRMs) were fitted to exponential distributions and will ultimately be included as input to spoilage risk assessment models which would allow better control of the spoilage of heat treated fruit products caused by heat-resistant moulds.

Arctic sea ice shrinks

CLIMATE CHANGE Arctic sea ice shrinks ShareShare onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail C&EN, 2018, 96 (15), p 21April 9, 2018Cite this:C&EN 96, 15, 21AbstractArctic sea ice likely reached its maximum extent of the year, 14.48 million km2, on March 17, the U.S. National Snow & Ice Data Center reports. That’s 7.4% below the average for 1981–2010. The orange line shows the median sea ice extent calculated for March 17 over that range of years. The four lowest Arctic sea ice maxima all occurred during the past four winters.View: PDF | Full Text HTML

Lahore, Pakistan – Urbanization challenges and opportunities

Lahore is the second largest metropolitan area in Pakistan, and the capital city of Punjab province. The city hosts various historical monuments, buildings and gardens. A walled city during the Mughal era (1524–1752) and British colonial rule, the city has grown as a hub of commerce and trade in the region. The built-up area almost doubled from 1999 to 2011 and is expected to grow at a similar or even higher rate, hence increasing pressure on the city administration in terms of managing infrastructure and squatter settlements. Challenges such as lack of integrated urban development policies, unchecked urban growth, overlapping jurisdictions of land governing authorities and ineffective building control further aggravate the situation. Despite the recent positive developments (like the provision of improved commuting facilities through Metro and Orange Line transport systems, and restoration of the walled city), Lahore still needs dynamic and structured institutions with technical, legal and regulatory support for managing the ever-increasing population. Planners need to develop feasible, realistic and practical urban development plans to ensure integrated infrastructural and socioeconomic development in the city. Additionally, utilizing the underexploited potential of tourism and knowledge-driven businesses can help boost the economy and transform Lahore into a modern city.

Erratum toEmpirical Estimation of High‐Frequency Ground Motion on Hard Rock

Correction| April 19, 2017 Erratum to Empirical Estimation of High‐Frequency Ground Motion on Hard Rock Olga‐Joan Ktenidou; Olga‐Joan Ktenidou Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Norman A. Abrahamson Norman A. Abrahamson Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Olga‐Joan Ktenidou Norman A. Abrahamson Publisher: Seismological Society of America First Online: 13 Jul 2017 Online Issn: 1938-2057 Print Issn: 0895-0695 © Seismological Society of America Seismological Research Letters (2017) 88 (3): 877. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170059 Article history First Online: 13 Jul 2017 Connected Content Errata: Empirical Estimation of High‐Frequency Ground Motion on Hard Rock Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Olga‐Joan Ktenidou, Norman A. Abrahamson; Erratum to Empirical Estimation of High‐Frequency Ground Motion on Hard Rock. Seismological Research Letters 2017;; 88 (3): 877. doi: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220170059 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySeismological Research Letters Search Advanced Search All figures and tables in the article are correct, but the text appearing in the last five lines on the left side of page 1476 (which describes Fig. 10a and Table 3) should be amended. Please consider that the following two sentences: “At high frequencies, the first model (orange line) follows the BCHydro amplification and represents our upper range of amplification. The second model (purple line) is the smooth weighted average of the amplifications of the two empirical datasets.” should be replaced with the sentence: “At high frequencies, the first model (purple line) is the smooth weighted average of the... View Original Article You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Study of β-carotene enhancing ‘Or’ gene effects on yield and contributing traits in mid-season Indian cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)

Nature of gene action of EC 625883, an orange curd colour genotype, on yield and contributing traits incauliflower was studied by using five generation model (P1, P2, F1, F2 and F3) in three cross combinations, viz., DC-309 × EC 625883, CC-35 × EC 625883 and DC 18–19 × EC 625883 for ten quantitative traits. The orange curdcolour Or gene donor homozygous line EC 625883 and three divergent recipient mid season (November-January)maturity white curd lines, namely, DC-309, CC-35, and DC 18–19 were involved in hybridization. Generationmean analysis using scaling test indicated that epistasis gene interaction model fitted well for most of the traitsunder study in all the three cross combinations. The complementary type of gene interaction was observed fornumber of days to marketable curd maturity, total plant weight, marketable curd weight and net curd weight. Thepresence of complementary type of interactions and prevalence of high magnitude of non-additive gene effectssuggested exploitation of heterosis breeding for improvement in cauliflower using Or gene for enhancing of β-carotene and micronutrient simultaneously.

ARS-Media for Excel: A Spreadsheet Tool for Calculating Media Recipes Based on Ion-Specific Constraints.

ARS-Media for Excel is an ion solution calculator that uses “Microsoft Excel” to generate recipes of salts for complex ion mixtures specified by the user. Generating salt combinations (recipes) that result in pre-specified target ion values is a linear programming problem. Excel’s Solver add-on solves the linear programming equation to generate a recipe. Calculating a mixture of salts to generate exact solutions of complex ionic mixtures is required for at least 2 types of problems– 1) formulating relevant ecological/biological ionic solutions such as those from a specific lake, soil, cell, tissue, or organ and, 2) designing ion confounding-free experiments to determine ion-specific effects where ions are treated as statistical factors. Using ARS-Media for Excel to solve these two problems is illustrated by 1) exactly reconstructing a soil solution representative of a loamy agricultural soil and, 2) constructing an ion-based experiment to determine the effects of substituting Na+ for K+ on the growth of a Valencia sweet orange nonembryogenic cell line.