Jejak-Jejak Persia di Barus

Traces of Persian Culture at Barrus. From the middle of the first millenium C.E., or even before, Barus has been known as a trading mart for camphor and gold.Archaeological researches conducted in Barus from 1995 until 2005, as part of the cooperation program between The National Research and Development Centre of Archaeology, Indonesia and École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), highlight the ancient relation between Persia and the Indonesia archipelago.A number of artefacts coming for Persia, made of stone and glass, as well as pottery, were collected during the excavations of the Lobu Tua site (mid-9th c.-end of the 11th c). Although analyses of the finds collected during the excavations at the Bukit Hasang site ( 12th c- beg. of the 16th c.) arenot completed yet, it is clear that at that time Barus experienced a great decline in the use of objects made of permanent material coming from the Middle East. But two inscribed tombstones, dating to the end of the 14th c. and to beginning of the 15th c, using Persian language or grammar prove that relation with Persia were not completely severed.Abstrak. Barus terkenal dari Asia Barat sampai Cina sebagai tempat perdagangan kuno untuk kamper dan emas sejak paling tidak pertengahan milenium pertama Masehi. Penelitian arkeologi yang telah dijalankan dari tahun 1995 hingga tahun 2005 di Barus, dalam rangka kerjasama Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Arkeologi Nasional dengan École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), menunjukkan hubungan yang berlangsung lama antara Persia dan Nusantara.Ekskavasi di situs Lobu Tua khususnya menghasilkan sejumlah artefak asal Persia dari batu dan kaca, serta sejumlah pecahan tembikar yang dipakai di Barus antara pertengahan abad ke-9 M dan akhir abad ke-I 1. Walaupun analisis mengenai hasil penggalian di situs Bukit Hasang (abad ke-12 hingga awal abad ke-16) belum selesai, sudah jelas bahwa pemakaian benda-benda permanen asal wilayah Timur Tengah pada umumnya menurun drastis di situs tersebut dibandingkan dengan Lobu Tua. Tetapi dua batu nisan dari akhir abad ke-14 dan awal abad ke-15, yang bertuliskan bahasa Persia atau menggunakan tata bahasa Persia, merupakan bukti bahwa hubungan dengan Persia tidak putus sama sekali.

Translocation of Drought-Responsive Proteins from the Chloroplasts

Some chloroplast proteins are known to serve as messengers to transmit retrograde signals from chloroplasts to the nuclei in response to environmental stresses. However, whether particular chloroplast proteins respond to drought stress and serve as messengers for retrograde signal transduction are unclear. Here, we used isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) to monitor the proteomic changes in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) treated with drought stress/re-watering. We identified 3936 and 1087 differentially accumulated total leaf and chloroplast proteins, respectively, which were grouped into 16 categories. Among these, one particular category of proteins, that includes carbonic anhydrase 1 (CA1), exhibited a great decline in chloroplasts, but a remarkable increase in leaves under drought stress. The subcellular localizations of CA1 proteins from moss (Physcomitrella patens), Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa) in P. patens protoplasts consistently showed that CA1 proteins gradually diminished within chloroplasts but increasingly accumulated in the cytosol under osmotic stress treatment, suggesting that they could be translocated from chloroplasts to the cytosol and act as a signal messenger from the chloroplast. Our results thus highlight the potential importance of chloroplast proteins in retrograde signaling pathways and provide a set of candidate proteins for further research.

The great decline in adolescent cigarette smoking since 2000: consequences for drug use among US adolescents

ObjectiveAdolescent cigarette smoking declined steadily and substantially from 2000 to 2018. This paper considers the potential consequences of this ‘great decline’ for the prevalence of other drug use among adolescents.MethodsData are annual, cross-sectional, nationally representative Monitoring the Future surveys of more than 1.2 million US students in 12th, 10th and 8th grades from 2000 to 2018. Analyses include trends in the past 12 months’ non-medical amphetamine, tranquillisers and opioid use overall, among ever and never cigarette smokers, and projected if adolescent cigarette smoking levels had remained at 2000 levels.ResultsWithin groups of ever and never cigarette smokers, the prevalence for each of the three substances has either changed little or overall increased in 2018 as compared with 2000. When the two groups were combined into one pool, the overall prevalence for each of the drugs declined by about half. The decline resulted from the growing group of never smokers, whose levels of non-medical drug use over the study period were at least four times lower than the levels of ever smokers.ConclusionsThe results support the ‘gateway’ prediction that declines in cigarette smoking among adolescents pull downward their non-medical use of amphetamines, tranquillisers and opioids. Continuing to reduce adolescent smoking through policy and programmatic prevention efforts should have further positive spillover effects on adolescent drug use.

Vibration and Noise Damping Treatment for an Excavator Cab

Acceleration signals at the mounts of an excavator cab are collected and analyzed, on the basis of which causes of peak values in the sound pressure level (SPL) at the drivers right ear (DRE) are discussed. A damping material layer made up of chlorobutyl rubber is arranged to the cabs panels by simulations according to results of panel acoustical contribution analysis, which indicates a great decline of the SPL peak values.

Two-Photon Absorption Properties of s-Triazine Derivatives With Near Octupolar Symmetry

Two new three-branched s-triazine derivatives with near-octupolar symmetry have been synthesized. In each of them, two branches have donor groups attaching to their ends, while the other one has none. Their photophysical characteristics, such as UV–vis spectra, fluorescence spectra and two-photon excited fluorescence spectra, are compared with their octuplar analogs in which all the three branches are ended by donor group. The little structural difference results in great decline of single-photon absorptivity and single-photon excited fluorescence, as well as the two-photon excitated fluorescence.

Structural Analysis and Optimal Design of Girders of a Special Astronomical Doom

Static analysis and optimal design are applied into the designing process of a special astronomical doom. Using the software Solidworks Cosmos2004, original design is statically analyzed. According to the shortcoming, the mathematical model is constituted and the optimal design is given. The results of optimal design meet the design demand of the astronomical doom. The optimal design shows that there has been a great decline in the number of steel and the price of the doom. It is practical to put the optical design into the designing process of the mechanical products.

Records on floral biology and visitors of Jacquemontia montana (Moric.) Meisn. (Convolvulaceae) in Mucugê, Bahia

We present the first records on pollination biology of Jacquemontia montana (Moric.) Meisn. (Convolvulaceae), a widespread climber in the Chapada Diamantina. Our objectives were to (1) characterise flower morphology and biology of J. montana; (2) sample flower visitors and (3) make inferences about potential pollinators, based on foraging behaviour. Observations and sampling were performed on two patches from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM, May 15th to 16th, 2007. The corolla is bowl shaped, pentamerous, gamopetalous, actinomorphic, and yellow, with a mean diameter of 22.43 ± 1.81 mm, the depth being variable during flower phases. Stigma receptivity lasted from 8:00 AM-3:30 PM and pollen viability from 9:00 AM-3:30 PM Pollen. showed great decline in number but not in viability during anthesis. Nectarivorous (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera) and herbivorous (Orthoptera) insects were found on the flowers. Both male and female bees (Dialictus spp., Robertson 1902) were the most frequent flower visitor. The bees' behaviour, and time spent on flowers, varied according to the resource gathered (i.e., pollen or nectar). The Dialictus species are likely to be the main pollinator of J. montana, considering the frequency, contact with reproductive parts, and carrying only J. montana pollen spread over the ventral part of the thorax, abdomen and legs. Although not quantified, nectar may still be available in the afternoon, considering the behaviour of bees on flowers during this time. Pollen:ovule ration that was1.200:4, suggests facultative xenogamy.

Interpreting the Dutch Great Awakening (1749–1755)

In 1754, the Scottish minister John Gillies (1712–1796) published a collection of historical accounts concerning “remarkable periods of the success of the Gospel.” Its composer was a spider in a web of correspondents in Europe and North America who believed they were living in an extraordinary time of revival in Christianity. Collective conversions and signs of repentance and faith were reported from all parts of the world and placed in a large eschatological perspective. After the Protestant Reformation—the climax of church history since the New Testament—a great decline had set in comparable to the Middle Ages. The “Great Awakening” seemed to recapture the spirit of the first Pentecost and offered prospects for a further extension of God's Kingdom. By means of missionary work among the heathen peoples, the Gospel would reach the ends of earth. Finally, after the collective conversion of the Jews and a millennium of peace, the time would come for the Lord of the Church to appear on the clouds of heaven to gather the harvest of all times.