Promoting Entrepreneurship through a Community Learning Model – Case Study: Green Businesses

This article presents a community learning model formulated by Engineers Without Borders Colombia with the aim of providing communities with tools to create sustainable productive solutions which have relevancy for members and for potential customers. The goal of this formulation is to promote learning processes that are guided by decisions made by community members to propose sustainable and replicable initiatives. The model applicability is evidenced through a case study devoted to strengthening community-led green businesses in the Guavio Province, Colombia by collecting lessons and conclusions. Ultimately, this collection will prove useful in replicating the learning model in other similar rural communities.

     

Which survey indicators are useful for monitoring consumption? Evidence from European countries

This paper assesses the information content of two survey indicators for consumption developments in the near future for eight European countries in the period 1985–1998. Empirical work on this topic typically focuses on consumer confidence, the perceptions of buyers of consumption goods. This paper examines whether perceptions of sellers of consumption goods, measured by retail trade surveys, may also improve short‐term monitoring of consumption. We find that both consumer confidence and retailer confidence embody valuable information, when analysed in isolation. For France, Italy and Spain we conclude that adding retail confidence does not improve the indicator model once consumer confidence has been included. For the UK the reverse case is obtained. For the remaining four countries we show that combining consumer sentiment and retail trade confidence into a composite indicator leads to optimal results. Our results suggest that incorporating information from retail trade surveys may offer significant benefits for the analysis of short‐term prospects of consumption. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A ground‐level ozone forecasting model for Santiago,Chile

A physically based model for ground‐level ozone forecasting is evaluated for Santiago, Chile. The model predicts the daily peak ozone concentration, with the daily rise of air temperature as input variable; weekends and rainy days appear as interventions. This model was used to analyse historical data, using the Linear Transfer Function/Finite Impulse Response (LTF/FIR) formalism; the Simultaneous Transfer Function (STF) method was used to analyse several monitoring stations together. Model evaluation showed a good forecasting performance across stations—for low and high ozone impacts—with power of detection (POD) values between 70 and 100%, Heidke's Skill Scores between 40% and 70% and low false alarm rates (FAR). The model consistently outperforms a pure persistence forecast. Model performance was not sensitive to different implementation options. The model performance degrades for two‐ and three‐days ahead forecast, but is still acceptable for the purpose of developing an environmental warning system at Santiago. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The gene encoding ganglioside-induced differentiation-associated protein 1 is mutated in axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 4A disease.

We identified three distinct mutations and six mutant alleles in GDAP1 in three families with axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy and vocal cord paresis, which were previously linked to the CMT4A locus on chromosome 8q21.1. These results establish the molecular etiology of CMT4A (MIM 214400) and suggest that it may be associated with both axonal and demyelinating phenotypes.     

高校科技保密与国家安全利益

高校在科学技术研究的活动中,已成为国家主力.科技保密已成为国家安全和国家利益的重要方面.本文在对科技保密重要性和必要性认识的基础上,分析了高校科技保密中存在的问题,提出搞好高校科技保密工作的相应对策.     

The first known use of vermillion

Vermillion has been shown to be useful in preserving human bones from 5000 years ago. Remarkably well-preserved human bones have been found in the dolmenic burial La Velilla in Osorno (Palencia, Spain), carefully covered by pulverized cinnabar (vermillion) which ensured their preservation even in non-favorable climatic conditions. We believe the red powder was deliberately deposited for preservative use because no cinnabar mine is to be found within 160 km, because of the large amount (hundreds of kilograms) used, and because its composition, red mercuric sulphide, is similar to that of preparations used in technical embalming. This finding pushes back the data of the use of mercury ore for preservation by four millennia in South America, and by at least one millennium in the Old World. Chemical and thermal analyses of vermillion in La Velilla have demonstrated its great purity and shown that the cinnabar was pulverized and washed (but not heated), producing a bright red-orange tone.     

一类拟线性第二边值问题的存在唯一性

本文在ｆ（ｔ,ｘ）,ｆｘ（ｔ,ｘ）,β（ｔ）连续,ｆｘ（ｔ,ｘ）≥－β（ｔ）,β（ｔ）≤π２０＋α２４,β（ｔ）π２０＋α２４,π０为方程αｓｉｎｘ２＋ｘｃｏｓｘ２＝０的最小正根条件下,证明了第二边值问题．ｘ＂＝αｘ＋ｆ（ｔ,ｘ）,ｘ（０）＝ａ,ｘ（１）＝ｂ对于任给实数α,ａ,ｂ都有唯一解     

A(p)函数类上的积分算子

设ｐ为正整数,Ａ（ｐ）表示单位圆盘内形如ｆ（ｚ）＝ｚｐ＋∑∞ｋ＝ｐ＋１ａｋｚｋ的解析函数全体,对给定的复常数λ≠－ｐ,及ｆ（ｚ）∈Ａ（ｐ）,用Ｊλｆ（ｚ）＝ｐ＋λｚλ∫ｚ０ｆ（ｔ）ｔλ－１ｄｔ定义算子Ｊλ,本文讨论了Ａ（ｐ）函数类上的积分算子Ｊλ,得到了在一定条件下Ｊλｆ（ｚ）∈Ｒ（ｐ）ｎ（α     

A 6,000-year sedimentary molecular record of chemocline excursions in the Black Sea

The Black Sea is the world's largest anoxic basin; it is also a contemporary analogue of the environment in which carbonaceous shales and petroleum source beds formed. Recently, Repeta et al. reported that anoxygenic photosynthesis may be an important component of carbon cycling in the present Black Sea, owing to a shoaling of the chemocline and consequent penetration of the photic zone by anaerobic waters in the past few decades. It has been suggested that this was due to an anthropogenic decrease in freshwater input to the Black Sea, although natural causes were not ruled out. Here we report the distributions of sequestered photosynthetic pigments in eight core samples of sediments from the Black Sea ranging in age from zero to 6,200 years before the present. Our results show that photosynthetic green sulphur bacteria (Chlorobiaceae [correction of Clorobiaceae]) have been active in the Black Sea for substantial periods of time in the past. This finding indicates that the penetration of the photic zone by anaerobic waters is not a recent phenomenon, and suggests that natural causes for shoaling of the chemocline are more likely than anthropogenic ones.     

The timing of cyclophosphamide therapy in tumor-bearing rats affects the resistance to tumor challenge in survivors

Summary Cyclophosphamide given to rats 2 or 5 days after an injection of Yoshida ascites sarcoma cured approximately the same proportion of animals, but the resistance to a subsequent tumor challenge was found only in rats treated with the drug 5 days after tumor injection.