background: il-17 is a major cytokine player in t cell mediated leukocyte associated inflammation. il-17 is also recognized to participate in the pathophysiology of asthma. objective: to determine the role of il-17 in predicting severe asthma. methods: we obtained serum samples from asthmatic children under the age of 5-year in three different groups of mild (n=33), moderate (n=28) and severe (...

We present preliminary results from mapping the high-latitude Galactic polarization with the Effelsberg Telescope at λ21 cm. Structures on the resulting maps are mostly on the scale of several degrees. The results show detection of polarization over most of the field, at the level of tens of percent of the synchrotron emission. The evidence of more structure in Stokes Q and U rather than in √ Q...

High-latitude plants are often more palatable to herbivores than low-latitude conspecifics. Does increased plant palatability lead to better herbivore performance? Our field and laboratory work investigated (A) whether high-latitude plants have traits indicating that they should be higher-quality foods for herbivores; (B) whether geographic differences in plant quality are more important than l...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Many individual studies have shown that the timing of leaf senescence in boreal and temperate deciduous forests in the northern hemisphere is influenced by rising temperatures, but there is limited consensus on the magnitude, direction and spatial extent of this relationship. METHODS A meta-analysis was conducted of published studies from the peer-reviewed literature that ...

raphanus sativus l. (radish) plants were grown in waste water irrigated area of dinapur, a suburban area in the north east of varanasi, india. soil and plant characteristics were compared between fertilized (farmyard manure (fym), npk, and fym+n) and non-amended control treatments. compared to the control, plants grown in fym and fym+n amended soil showed a decrease in concentrations of heavy m...

The microgrid concept is a natural evolution of distributed resources that may be used to serve energy to customers in areas where conventional power system approaches cannot satisfy the reliability needs. Microgrids[2] may also provide support to conventional power systems that are too constrained to meet the power demands of customers. This paper presents a case study of a remote village depe...

The performance of an HF digital radio system is strongly affected by the response of its various protocols to short-term (sub-hourly) variations in the ionosphere. There is a very limited choice of models of this variation. Channel simulators based on the Watterson 2-path model (ITU-R F.1487) are commonly relied upon for modem testing, system design and modelling. Limited DSTO trials in the pa...

Ectomycorrhizal (EcM)-mediated nitrogen (N) acquisition is one main strategy used by terrestrial plants to facilitate growth. Measurements of natural abundance nitrogen isotope ratios (denoted as δ(15)N relative to a standard) increasingly serve as integrative proxies for mycorrhiza-mediated N acquisition due to biological fractionation processes that alter (15)N:(14)N ratios. Current understan...