705 research outputs found
Metallothioneins as biomarkers of metal pollution in estuaries on the south coast of England
No full textContamination of aquatic environments via anthropogenic release of metals is an increasing global environmental concern. The greatest concerns exist within estuarine and harbour environments, where point and non-point metal sources are prevalent. Historically, monitoring programs were initially (and largely) based on chemical analyses; however, the identification of a number of shortcomings in this approach resulted in a shift towards the complementary use of biological monitoring (biomonitoring). The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the suitability of selected aquatic invertebrate taxa biomarker responses (by production of metallothionein- MT) for assessment of aquatic environmental conditions in three coastal estuaries in Southern England: Poole Harbour, the Fal estuary and the Solent. This was delivered through a critical review of the current status of metal contamination in biota, water and sediment within these estuaries; by investigation of the suitability of selected species’ metallothioneins to act as biomarkers by assessing their correlation with metal pollution; by assessment of the effectiveness of these organisms as bioindicators in biomonitoring studies; and though investigation of the potential use of MT concentrations in these species as biomarkers of metal exposure in monitoring programmes.Legislation has been established to facilitate the protection, and enhance the quality, of all water bodies, including coastal waters and estuaries to prevent their deterioration and to ensure they achieve ‘good’ ecological health; but examination of water and sediment samples showed that historical metal pollution has not been dispersed and still affects environmental quality. In Poole Harbour, metal contamination was detected in all environmental compartments. The enclosed nature of the harbour and its secondary embayments make it vulnerable to the effects of these metal sources which disperse extremely slowly due to restricted tidal exchange; and a significant part of the pollution load remains in coastal areas close to land based contamination sources. In Poole Harbour, water was polluted with As (ranged from 29.6 to 212.8 ?g/l) and Hg (ranged from 0.368 ?g/l to 11.06 ?g/l) which are above the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) set by the European Union dangerous substances directive (EUDSD). Sediment metals were mostly within “the possible effect range” at which adverse effects occasionally occur, according to the Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines (CSQG). Although cockles (Cerastoderma edule) had higher tissue concentrations of Ni, Ag and Hg in areas close to pollution sources, and sponges (Haliclona oculata) had accumulated Cu and Zn with a very high magnitude, the absence of EQS for metals in living organisms’ tissues makes it difficult to specify whether the metal concentrations reached a dangerous level or not in these organisms. The results confirmed the presence of a marked metal pollution gradient in the Fal Estuary between the ‘clean’ sites in the north and east of the estuary and the ‘polluted’ sites in the west of the estuary which were historically polluted by water from mines. Moreover, the concentrations of metals in almost all of the contaminated sites in the Fal and Solent estuaries have not changed significantly over the past few decades.This study investigated the potential of MT as biomarker of metal pollution in the following wild species: two well-studied bioindicators- common cockles (C. edule) from Poole Harbour, and mussels (Mytilus edulis) from the Fal estuary and the Solent; and tested the following novel bioindicators: sponges (H. oculata) from Poole Harbour, ragworms (Hediste diversicolor) From the Fal estuary, and limpets (Patella vulgata) from the Solent. The spectrophotometric method was used to measure MT in these species as it has been reported to be a sensitive, time saving, and low-cost technique able to detect MT content in the tissues of aquatic organisms. The results showed that MT concentration in these estuarine wild invertebrates vary between sites; however, these variations were not exclusively associated with metal concentrations and that other environmental factors may explain some of the MTs variability. The many uncertainties surrounding MT in wild organisms indicate that it may have limited potential as a biomarker in estuarine environments. It is also apparent that the importance of biotic and abiotic factors at polluted sites may limit its application.In this study, transplanted mussels (M. edulis) and Manila clams (Tapes philippinarum) were used as active biomonitoring tools in Poole Harbour. It was found that under extreme conditions of metal pollution, the relationship between metal concentrations and MT deviates from linearity: a threshold appears to be reached beyond which the physiological capacity of organisms introduced to polluted areas is exceeded. In the above transplanted animals, MT induction increased to peak levels with increased metal concentration, and then declined with further increases in the concentration
Persepsi Mahasiswa terhadap Nilai Moderasi Beragama dalam Film Walid: Telaah Kritis Perspektif Pendidikan Islam
No full textReligious moderation is a fundamental principle in fostering harmonious religious life within Indonesia\u27s plural society. Islamic education holds a strategic role in instilling these values, particularly in the digital era dominated by visual media and shifting learning patterns. This study aims to analyze the perceptions of Islamic Education students toward the representation of religious moderation in the Walid movie, and to assess the role of Islamic education in shaping a moderate religious worldview. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with students who had watched the movie of Walid. The findings reveal that Walid serves as a reflective medium that enhances critical awareness of the importance of religious moderation. However, the film also carries the risk of misinterpretation not supported by adequate religious and media literacy. Islamic education is perceived as a central force in forming a balanced understanding of religious issues, serving as a bulwark against both extremism and interpretive liberalism. The study concludes the necessity of integrating contextual Islamic education curricula and media literacy as strategies to cultivate a generation that is religiously moderate, critical, and inclusive
Metal contamination in water, sediment and biota from a semi-enclosed coastal area
No full textThis study identifies and quantifies the spatial variations of metal contamination in water, sediment and biota: the common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) and the Mermaid’s glove sponge (Haliclona oculata), within a heavily anthropogenically impacted semi-enclosed estuarine–coastal area with a low ability to disperse and flush contaminants (Poole Harbour, UK). The results showed that metal contamination was detected in all environmental compartments. Water was polluted with As, and Hg sediment metals were mostly within “the possible effect range” in which adverse effects occasionally occurs. Cockles had considerable concentrations of Ni, Ag and Hg in areas close to pollution sources, and sponges accumulate Cu and Zn with very high magnitude. A systematic monitoring approach that includes biological monitoring techniques, which covers all embayments, is needed, and an integrated management of the semi-enclosed coastal zones should be based on the overall hydrological characteristics of these sensitive areas and their ability to self?restore which is different than open coastal zone
Review of the book Hitlers Volksstaat: Raub, Rassenkrieg und nationaler Sozialismus by Götz Aly
No full textDr. Jeff R. Schutts (Douglas College) reviews the book Hitlers Volksstaat: Raub, Rassenkrieg und nationaler Sozialismus by Götz Aly (2008).Final article published
Ultrasonographic cervical length and risk of hemorrhage in pregnancies with placenta previa
No full textIMPLEMENTASI KEBIJAKAN PERATURAN MENTERI AGAMA NOMOR 32 TAHUN 2020 TENTANG MA’HAD ALY: ANTARA HARAPAN DAN DILEMA
No full textThe enactment of Law Number 18 of 2019 concerning Islamic Boarding Schools, followed by Regulation of the Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia Number 32 of 2020 concerning Ma\u27had Aly, should be a hope for organizers and managers of education in the Islamic boarding school environment. These hopes include funding support and certainty of Ma\u27had Aly graduates. In addition, there is a legal guarantee for fulfilling the right to obtain employment opportunities and continue studies to the next level of education. Providing guarantees of recognition, affirmation, and facilitation for Islamic boarding schools based on their traditions and characteristics is a sociological and philosophical consideration when forming Islamic boarding school laws. To date, this guarantee has not been fully realized. The hope of Islamic boarding schools is still accompanied by the dilemma of ensuring recognition from the government. The author is interested in uncovering what the managers of Ma\u27had Aly are worried about, especially after the implementation of PMA Number 32 of 2020 concerning Ma\u27had Aly. The researcher\u27s focus is to describe the implementation of these regulatory policies. Because it concerns statutory norms, the method used in this research is normative juridical research, namely, literature study research, to examine PMA 32 of 2020. The aim is to describe the implementation of PMA 32 of 2020 for Islamic boarding schools that organize Ma\u27had Aly, the problems experienced by the management, and how the Ministry of Religion responds to the Islamic boarding school\u27s hesitation in implementing recognition, affirmation and facilitation policies. As a result, there are still problems for the organizers of Ma\u27had Aly. The external quality assurance system through the community assembly has not shown its productivity. The government, in this case, the Ministry of Religion, needs to be encouraged to have the courage to take strategic policy steps as a concrete form of recognition, affirmation and facilitation of Ma\u27had Aly implementation policies. Apart from that, the government is also encouraged to form a directorate general of Islamic boarding schools to solve bureaucratic problems in Islamic boarding school services
Towards efficient processing of big spatial data
No full textThe ubiquity of location-aware devices has resulted in a plethora of location-based services in which huge amounts of spatial data need to be efficiently processed. To cope with such proliferation of spatial data, this dissertation addresses two key issues that are overlooked by existing spatial-query processing platforms: i) the multiplicity of predicates in spatial queries, and ii) the dynamic nature of big spatial data. A user\u27s query can include multiple spatial and relational predicates. However, existing spatial-query processors focus only on the execution of queries with single spatial predicates, e.g., range or k-nearest-neighbor (kNN, for short). Queries with multiple kNN and relational predicates raise correctness and performance challenges. Because a kNN predicate implicitly applies a ranking operation, applying a kNN predicate before or after another (spatial or relational) predicate in a query evaluation pipeline may result in different outputs. Hence, classical query optimization heuristics, e.g., pushing selects below joins, may compromise the correctness of evaluation of these queries. This dissertation presents new algorithms and optimizations that can enhance the performance of these queries while maintaining the correctness of their evaluation. Furthermore, to arbitrate between the different optimizations, novel techniques for estimating the cost of the kNN predicates are presented. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the proposed algorithms and optimizations, coupled with the cost estimation techniques, achieve orders of magnitude enhancement in query performance. To process large-scale spatial data, several cluster-based spatial-query processing systems have been proposed in the literature. However, these systems employ static data-partitioning structures that cannot adapt to data changes, and that are insensitive to the query workload. Hence, these systems are incapable of consistently providing good performance. To close this gap, this dissertation presents AQWA, an adaptive and workload-aware mechanism for partitioning large-scale spatial data. AQWA does not assume prior knowledge of the data distribution or the query workload. Instead, as data is consumed and queries are processed, the data partitions are incrementally updated. Experimental evaluation, which is based on real spatial data and various workloads of range and kNN queries, demonstrates that, compared to the state-of-the-art systems, AQWA achieves an order of magnitude enhancement in query performance
International Conference on Industry, Engineering, and Management Systems (2007 : Cocoa Beach, Fla.)
No full textDigitized and published in SOAR: Shocker Open Access Repository by Wichita State University Libraries Technical Services, May 2022.The IEMS'07 conference committee: California State University Stanislaus Department of Management, Operations, and Marketing Department (Sponsor); Nael Aly (Conference Co-Chair/Proceedings Ed.); Ahmad Elshennawy (Conference Co-Chair); Alfred Petrosky (Program Chair); Adel Ali (Program Coordinator); Nabeel Yousef (Conference IT Director)Includes author index.This book features the proceedings of the 13th Annual International Conference on Industry, Engineering and Management Systems (IEMS'07) held March 12-14, 2007 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Proceedings includes 103 papers presented at the conference.Sponsor: Management, Operations, and Marketing Department, California State University, StanislausAbstract Concepts in Computer Science -- Accounting/Finance -- Automation/Intelligent Computing -- Construction Management -- Decision Making in Management and Engineering -- Decision Support Systems -- Education and Training -- Entrepreneurship -- Global Applications -- Human Computer Interaction -- Human Engineering -- Industry and Academia Collaboration -- Lean Enterprise -- Lean Six Sigma -- Management Information Systems -- Management and Organizational Behavior -- Management of Technology -- Marketing -- Operations Management -- Simulation and Modeling -- Statistical Quality Improvement and Control -- Supply Chain Management -- Technology Commercialization -- Abstract
Superconducting quantum point contacts and Maxwell potential
No full textThe quantization of the current in a superconducting quantum point contact is reviewed and the critical current is discussed at different temperatures depending on the carrier concentration as well by suggesting a constant potential in the semiconductor and then a Maxwell potential. When the Fermi wavelength is comparable with the constriction width we showed that the critical current has a step-like variation as a function of the constriction width and the carrier concentration. © World Scientific Publishing Company.Abdalla E, 1998, PHYS REV LETT, V80, P238, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.80.238; AKAZAKI T, 1991, APPL PHYS LETT, V59, P2037, DOI 10.1063-1.106124; ALY AH, 1998, EGYPTIAN J PHYS, V70, P35; ANDREEV AF, 1964, SOV PHYS JETP-USSR, V19, P1228; Andreev A.F., 1964, Zhurnal Eksperimental'noi i Teoreticheskoi Fiziki, V46; BARDEEN J, 1972, PHYS REV B, V5, P72, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.5.72; Bauch T, 2005, PHYS REV B, V71, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.71.174502; BECKER T, 1995, PHYSICA B, V204, P183, DOI 10.1016-0921-4526(94)00261-S; Chang VCY, 1997, PHYS REV B, V55, P6004, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.55.6004; CHRESTIN A, 1994, PHYS REV B, V49, P498, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.49.498; Chtchelkatchev NM, 2000, PHYS REV B, V62, P3559, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.62.3559; Colatto LP, 2003, PHYS LETT A, V314, P184, DOI 10.1016-S0375-9601(03)00903-4; Dai Z, 2006, APPL PHYS LETT, V88, DOI 10.1063-1.2206697; De Franceschi S, 1998, APPL PHYS LETT, V73, P3890, DOI 10.1063-1.122926; DEGENNES PG, 1995, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY ME, pCH5; DESER S, 1982, ANN PHYS-NEW YORK, V140, P372, DOI 10.1016-0003-4916(82)90164-6; DUNNE GV, HEPTH9902115; FROLOV SM, 2004, MAT04042434; FURUSAKI A, 1991, PHYS REV LETT, V67, P132, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.67.132; FURUSAKI A, 1998, CONDMAT9811026; FURUSAKI A, 1992, PHYS REV B, V45, P10563, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.45.10563; Giazotto F, 2001, APPL PHYS LETT, V78, P1772, DOI 10.1063-1.1357211; Imamura H, 2002, J APPL PHYS, V91, P7032, DOI 10.1063-1.1447188; ISHII C, 1970, PROG THEOR PHYS, V44, P1525, DOI 10.1143-PTP.44.1525; ISHII C, 1972, PROG THEOR PHYS, V47, P1464, DOI 10.1143-PTP.47.1464; KASTALSKY A, 1991, PHYS REV LETT, V67, P3026, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.67.3026; Khare A, 1998, FRACTIONAL STAT QUAN; Kikuchi K., 2002, Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics), V65, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.65.020508; KLAPWIJK TM, 1994, PHYSICA B, V197, P481, DOI 10.1016-0921-4526(94)90248-8; KULIK IO, 1970, SOV PHYS JETP-USSR, V30, P944; Lachenmann SG, 1998, J APPL PHYS, V83, P8077, DOI 10.1063-1.367905; MAGNEE PHC, 1994, PHYS REV B, V50, P4594, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.50.4594; NGUYEN C, 1994, APPL PHYS LETT, V65, P103, DOI 10.1063-1.113047; NITTA J, 1992, PHYS REV B, V46, P14286, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.46.14286; Poirier W, 1997, PHYS REV LETT, V79, P2105, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.79.2105; Regul J, 2002, APPL PHYS LETT, V81, P2023, DOI 10.1063-1.1506417; STERN J, 1991, PHYS LETT B, V265, P119, DOI 10.1016-0370-2693(91)90024-K; SVIDZINS.AV, 1973, J LOW TEMP PHYS, V10, P131, DOI 10.1007-BF00655245; Sze S. M., 1981, PHYS SEMICONDUCTOR D; Taboryski R, 1996, APPL PHYS LETT, V69, P656, DOI 10.1063-1.117796; TAKAYANAGI H, 1995, PHYS REV LETT, V75, P3533, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.75.3533; TAKAYANAGI H, 1995, PHYS REV B, V51, P1374, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.51.1374; VANHOUTEN H, 1991, PHYSICA B, V175, P187, DOI 10.1016-0921-4526(91)90712-N; VANHUFFELEN WM, 1993, PHYS REV B, V47, P5170, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevB.47.5170; VANWEES BJ, 1988, PHYS REV LETT, V60, P848, DOI 10.1103-PhysRevLett.60.848; WHARAM DA, 1988, J PHYS C SOLID STATE, V21, pL887, DOI 10.1088-0022-3719-21-24-00223
Trade policies and trade mis-reporting in Myanmar
No full textWhile the trade statistics of Myanmar show surpluses for 2007 through 2010, the corresponding statistics of trade partner countries indicate deficits. Such discrepancies in mirror trade statistics are analyzed in connection with the ‘export-first and import-second’ policy provisioning import permissions on permission applicants possessing a sufficient amount of the export-tax-deducted export earnings. Under this policy, the recorded imports and exports of the private sector have been maintaining equilibrium, whereas discrepancies in the mirror statistics have fluctuated. This suggests that traders adjusted mis-reporting in accordance with the supply and demand of the export earnings.Myanmar, Trade policy, Trade problem, Trade Policies, Mis-invoicing, Smuggling
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