bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
O pensamento e o movente: experiência da duração ante os processos de aceleração da história e alguns desafios para a educação.
Authors: Guimarães Áurea Maria , Pastre José Luiz
Published: July 2016

Esse artigo tem por objetivo problematizar alguns aspectos das mudanças produzidas pelos novos meios técnicos e científicos. Essas mudanças afetam nossa maneira de habitar o planeta, nossas relações interpessoais, a maneira como nos relacionamos com o passado e com o futuro, a maneira como nos relacionamos com nossa memória e com a cultura, afetam as experiências de aprendizagens, trazem novos desafios para os processos educacionais. Considerando a importância dessas questões para o campo da educação, autores como Henry Bergson, Walter Benjamin, Paul Virilio, Paula Sibilia, Felix Guattari e Vigotski podem nos ajudar a compreender de que maneira a realidade passa a ser percebida ante os processos de aceleração do tempo histórico e como nossa sensibilidade se altera, dificultando o pensamento, o diálogo, a narrativa de experiências. Se a rapidez das informações e da comunicação coloca novos problemas para nossa liberdade, para a maneira como nos relacionamos com o tempo segundo uma experiência da duração, para nossa capacidade de avaliar o que nos acontece, procuramos indicar que a cultura e a comunicação necessitam da duração, dos vínculos sociais e de que a educação, pensada como uma ação cultural, deve se interrogar pelas ações que possibilitem uma "reação transformadora", diante dessas mudanças.
Do the Flexible Employment Arrangements Increase Job Satisfaction and Employee Loyalty? Evidence from Bayesian Networks and Instrumental Variables
Authors: Giovanis Eleftherios
Published: July 2016

This study explores the relationship between job satisfaction, employee loyalty and two types of flexible employment arrangements; teleworking and flexi-time. The analysis relies on data derived by the Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS) in 2004 and 2011. A propensity score matching and least squares regressions are applied. Furthermore, Bayesian Networks (BN) and Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) are employed in order to confirm the causality between employment types explored and the outcomes of interest. Finally, an instrumental variables (IV) approach based on the BN framework is proposed and applied in this study. The results support that there is a positive causal effect from these employment arrangements on job satisfaction and employee loyalty.
Risk of Recurrent Miscarriage in India and the Effect of Paternal Age and Maternal Age
Authors: Pokale Yamini Sharad , Khadke Prashant
Published: July 2016

Background: A risk of miscarriage increases with increase in parental age. However many studies investigate only the effect of maternal age. This study focused on both the maternal age and paternal age effect on miscarriage.

Method: Couples with the pregnancy loss issue were studied with the age range 19 to 50 years. Maternal age and paternal age were analyzed together. The couples composed of a women and man both aged 20-29 years were used as reference group.

Results: Universally the risk of miscarriage was found to be higher if the women age was 35 years or more and man with age was 40 years or more. But due to small sample size this has not been proved in this study.

Conclusions: The risk of pregnancy loss increases if male and female partners are having advanced age.
Influence of Supplementation of Zea Mays Flour on the Growth and Economic Traits of Silkworm, Bombyx Mori L.(PFD)
Authors: J Shifa Vanmathi.
Published: July 2016

Studies were  carried  out  on  the  impact  of supplementation of Zea mays flour on  silkworm  Bombyx mori  belonging  to double hybrid variety (PFD).  The 3rd,4th 5th  instars    larvae  were  feed  with  leaves  supplemented  with different concentrations of Zea mays flour.  Maximum  larval  weight  was  observed in  5th instar  larvae  in 10% Treatment (4.59±0.31g )  and  5% Treatment (3.98±0.23g ) as compared  to  the control (3.13± 0.14g ).Mulberry leaves  treated with Zea mays flour  protein (10%)fed  larvae  recorded a  maximum  cocoon weight (2.32±0.07g),  pupal weight (1.53±0.12g) shell weight (0.42±0.02g) , shell ratio (24.55±0.62%)  silk filament length  (851.11±6.94m)  silk filament  weight (0.51±0.04g). Shell  ratio  in this treatment  (10%)  showed  an  increase of 18.38 %  over  control filament  length  21.64% . Larvae fed with mulberry  leaves  enriched with  Zea mays flour  protein  showed  significant  enchancement  in  economic characters of Bombyx mori was  traced.  
Seasonal Variations in Water Quality of Shipra River in Ujjain, India
Authors: Dalal Parag
Published: July 2016

Shipra River is a major river and is lifeline of thousands of people in Ujjain city and nearby areas. Shipra has been subjected to assault of the adverse impact of industrialization and urbanization. The problem has aggravated because of the uncontrolled flow of municipal and domestic sewers dumping directly into river. The present pollution loads also contributes a lot of toxic heavy metals of industrial area of Indore merged by Khan River water. Due to zero flow the river Shipra lacks the self purification scheme of rivers and streams.

            In this study the water samples are collected from five different Sampling zones at a distance of 3 Kms from each other. Various Variables are found in the Downstream of the river, co-relation between various Physico-Chemical variables are been calculated. This depicts tremendous pollution meters and drastic change in water quality of river water. The mixing of Narmada Water contributes in a slight restoration of water parameters and improves the quality of water. 
Validity of two general outcome measures of science and social studies achievement
Authors: Mooney Paul , Lastrapes Renée E. , Marcotte Amanda M. , Matthews Amy
Published: July 2016

The present research expanded validity findings for a structured formative assessment measure of content learning that was administered online and known as critical content monitoring. The study also evaluated the potential for additional measures, including sentence verification technique and written retell, to explain variance in student achievement in science and social studies classrooms. Participants were fifth-grade students (N=51) enrolled in a public primary school in the southeastern U.S. Three predictor variables (i.e. critical content monitoring, sentence verification technique and written retell) were correlated with content test scores from the nationally representative standardized achievement test (i.e. Stanford Achievement Test-Tenth Edition abbreviated online form) and a statewide accountability test. Pearson correlations for critical content monitoring and the Stanford tests across science (r=.55) and social studies (r=.63) were moderately strong and similar in magnitude with other reported correlations for academic language measures in the literature. Correlations for critical content monitoring were descriptively larger than those between the standardized tests and sentence verification technique and written retell. Commonality analyses indicated that both critical content monitoring and sentence verification technique added unique variance to explanatory models. Limitations and implications were discussed.
Urban Air Pollution in Taiwan before and after the Installation of a Mass Rapid Transit System
Authors: Ding Pei‐Hsiou , Wang Gen‐Shuh , Chen Bing‐Yu , Wan Gwo‐Hwa
Published: July 2016

Urbanization causes air pollution in metropolitan areas, coupled with meteorological factors that affect air quality. Although previous studies focused on the relationships of urbanization, air pollution, and climate change in Western countries, this study evaluated long‐term variations of air quality and meteorological factors in Taiwanese metropolitan areas (Taipei area, Taichung City, and Kaohsiung City) and a rural area (Hualien County) between 1993 and 2012. The influence of a mass rapid transit (MRT) system on air quality was also evaluated. Air pollutant concentrations and meteorology data were collected from Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA) air monitoring stations and Central Weather Bureau stations in the surveyed areas, respectively. Analyses indicate that levels of air pollution in metropolitan areas were greater than in the rural area. Kaohsiung City had the highest levels of O3, SO2, and particulate matter 2.5 or 10 µm in diameter (PM2.5 and PM10). Clear downward trends for CO, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and especially SO2 concentrations were found in the surveyed areas, whereas O3 showed no decrease. Both O3 and PM concentrations showed similar bimodal seasonal distributions. Taiwan's air quality has improved significantly since 1993, indicating the effectiveness of promoting air pollution strategies and policies by the TEPA. Air pollution had an obvious improvement in Taipei area after the MRT system began operations in 1996. Because global climate may potentially affect urban air pollution in Taiwan, further study to clarify the mechanisms by which air pollution may affect human health and other biological effects is warranted.

Core Ideas

Levels of air pollution in metropolitan areas were greater than in the rural area in Taiwan.

Clear downward trends for CO, SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5 levels in the surveyed areas, but not for O3.

Levels of NO2 and CO in the Taipei area showed improvement after MRT system installation.
Influence of Acidification on the Partitioning of Steroid Hormones among Filtrate, Filter Media, and Retained Particulate Matter
Authors: Havens Sonya M. , Hedman Curtis J. , Hemming Jocelyn D.C. , Mieritz Mark G. , Shafer Martin M. , Schauer James J.
Published: July 2016

Hormone contamination of aquatic systems has been shown to have deleterious effects on aquatic biota. However, the assessment of hormone contamination of aquatic environments requires a quantitative evaluation of the potential effects of sample preservation on hormone concentrations. This study investigated the influence of acidification (pH 2) of surface water samples on the partitioning of hormones among filtrate, filter media, and filter‐retained particulate matter. Hormones were spiked into unpreserved and sulfuric acid–preserved ultrapure water and surface water runoff samples. The samples were filtered, and hormones were extracted from the filter and filtrate and analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Acidification did not influence the partitioning of hormones onto the filter media. For the majority of the hormones investigated in this study, the partitioning of hormones to the filter‐retained particulate matter was not influenced by acidification. Acidification increased the partitioning of progesterone and melengestrol acetate onto the retained particulate matter (about 25% for both analytes). Incorporation of an isotopically labeled internal standard (ISTD) for progesterone accounted for the loss of progesterone to the filter‐retained particulates and resulted in accurate concentrations of progesterone in the filtrate. The incorporation of an ISTD for melengestrol acetate, however, was unable to account for the loss of melengestrol acetate to the retained particulates and resulted in underestimations of melengestrol acetate in the filtrate. Our results indicate that the analysis of melengestrol acetate in acid preserved surface runoff samples should be conducted on the filter‐retained particulates as well as the filtrate.

Core Ideas

Acidification did not influence the partitioning of hormones onto the filter media.

Acidification increased partitioning of progesterone to particulates.

Acidification increased partitioning of melengestrol acetate to particulates.

Internal standard accounted for partitioning of progesterone to particulates.

Internal standard did not account for partitioning of melengestrol acetate to particulates.
Decreasing Phosphorus Loss in Tile‐Drained Landscapes Using Flue Gas Desulfurization Gypsum
Authors: King K. W. , Williams M. R. , Dick W. A. , LaBarge G. A.
Published: July 2016

Elevated phosphorus (P) loading from agricultural nonpoint‐source pollution continues to impair inland waterbodies throughout the world. The application of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum to agricultural fields has been suggested to decrease P loading because of its high calcium content and P sorbing potential. A before–after control–impact paired field experiment was used to examine the water quality effects of successive FGD gypsum applications (2.24 Mg ha−1; 1 ton acre−1 each) to an Ohio field with high soil test P levels (>480 ppm Mehlich‐3 P). Analysis of covariance was used to compare event discharge, dissolved reactive P (DRP), and total P (TP) concentrations and loadings in surface runoff and tile discharge between the baseline period (86 precipitation events) and Treatment Period 1 (42 precipitation events) and Treatment Period 2 (84 precipitation events). Results showed that, after the first application of FGD gypsum, event mean DRP and TP concentrations in treatment field tile water were significantly reduced by 21 and 10%, respectively, and DRP concentrations in surface runoff were significantly reduced by 14%; however, no significant reductions were noted in DRP or TP loading. After the second application, DRP and TP loads were significantly reduced in surface runoff (DRP, 41%; TP 40%), tile discharge (DRP, 35%; TP, 15%), and combined (surface + tile) discharge (DRP, 36%; TP, 38%). These findings indicate that surface application of FGD gypsum can be used as a tool to address elevated P concentrations and loadings in drainage waters.

Core Ideas

A paired field study demonstrated the water quality benefits of FGD gypsum.

FGD gypsum improved aggregate stability and increased infiltration.

FGD application reduced dissolved and total P concentrations.

FGD gypsum reduced dissolved and total P loads.

Significant reductions were realized in surface and tile drainage discharge.
Nitrous Oxide Emission and Soil Carbon Sequestration from Herbaceous Perennial Biofuel Feedstocks
Authors: Johnson Jane M. F. , Barbour Nancy W.
Published: July 2016

Core Ideas

Adding N fertilizer increases N2O emission from perennial grasses managed as feedstock.

Interseeding clover with perennial grasses reduced N2O emission and yield.

Soil organic C storage under grasses may be inadequate to offset fertilizer‐induced N2O flux.

Nitrogen management to optimize yield‐scaled N2O flux from established grasses is needed.

No soil organic C storage occurred under no‐till corn–soybean rotation to offset N2O flux.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerdardii Vitman) are potential bioenergy feedstocks. Perennial grasses managed as bioenergy feedstock require nitrogenous inputs, which can cause N2O emission and, thereby, alter their effectiveness to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Few studies have measured N2O emission from perennial grasses managed as feedstock. The objectives of this study were to compare N2O flux and soil organic C (SOC) storage between (i) grasses with legume companion crops or with nitrogenous fertilizer, (ii) two grass harvest times (autumn and spring), and (iii) perennial systems and corn (Zea maize L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (C–S) rotation, all without tillage. Nitrous oxide flux was measured from May 2009 to May 2012, and SOC was measured in 2000, 2006, and 2011. Big bluestem–clover (Dalea) and switchgrass–clover treatments had dramatically reduced annual N2O emissions and yield‐scaled emissions compared with the respective grasses with urea fertilizer. Cumulative N2O emission was 14 to 40% greater in the big bluestem‐spring and switchgrass‐spring treatments compared with respective autumn‐harvested treatments. The average cumulative emission in fertilized big bluestem and switchgrass treatments (18.5 kg N2O‐N ha−1) exceeded that of the C–S rotation (12.7 kg N2O‐N ha−1). The emission factor (EF) for fertilized grasses averaged 2.5%, corn averaged 1.05%, and C–S rotation averaged 1.9%. The SOC storage by perennial grasses was limited to 0 to 5 cm and thus may not be adequate to offset N2O emission. Nitrogen management refinement is recommended for herbaceous perennials to optimize biomass production and minimize N2O emission.
Representações sociais sobre os alimentos orgânicos para agricultores: uma revisão da literatura nacional
Authors: Clay Elizabeth , Chamon Edna Maria Querido de Oliveira , Rodrigues Alexandra Magna
Published: July 2016

Por mais de cinco décadas a Teoria de Representações Sociais (TRS), introduzida por Serge Moscovici, propõe que a interação entre o sujeito, objeto e sociedade gera modificações constantes das concepções do grupo, que levam à construção de práticas sociais por esse grupo e que, ao mesmo tempo, influenciam seu comportamento. O objetivo do presente estudo foi revisar a literatura nacional com relação às representações sociais sobre os alimentos orgânicos para os agricultores. A busca de artigos científicos, teses e dissertações foi feita nas bases de dados SCIELO, BDTD, Google Acadêmico e LUME, nos últimos 15 anos. Nesse período, a temática mais abordada foi a das RS por agricultores, com 11 textos abordando o assunto. Com relação às RS sobre alimentos orgânicos, seis textos foram encontrados. Os conteúdos representacionais mais frequentemente encontrados nessa temática foram: “alimentos orgânicos são saudáveis”; “não usam produtos químicos”; “produtos naturais”; “proporcionam a saúde do povo e melhores condições”; “planta sadia”; ”adubo orgânico”; “uso de insumos e inseticidas naturais”; “valores éticos e morais”; “proteger a vida”; “saúde da família e dos consumidores”; “nutritivo e não tóxico”; “alimento leve”; “sem veneno, sem conservante”. Esse conteúdo aponta para grandes linhas estruturantes da RS: uma dimensão biológica, associada à saúde e ao saudável; uma dimensão técnica, associada às formas de produção, ao uso de pesticidas e aos métodos orgânicos; e, uma dimensão ética, associada à proteção da vida e da natureza. O estudo aponta também a carência de uma literatura nacional sobre o tema.
Reforestation challenges in Southeast Europe facing climate change
Authors: Ivetić Vladan , Devetaković Jovana
Published: July 2016

Projections of the regional climate model for Southeast Europe generally predict an increasing of temperature and a decrease in precipitation, with some local variations. Higher frequency of extreme weather events and increased flooding can also be expected. This climate change will, among other things, result in changes in habitats and species distribution, and a decrease in biodiversity. In most cases, forest ecosystems will be unable to adapt fast enough to keep pace with changes in climate. Extreme weather events and low precipitation during the growing season will cause high mortality of seedlings after planting. New forests will face the whole range of these changes because of the long lifetime of trees. Reforestation programs must take projections of climate change into consideration. In the long term, new guidelines for site-species matching, provenance selection, and genetic diversity need to be adopted. In the short term, site preparation, planting techniques, and post planting protection need to be improved. In addition, seedling quality (morphological, physiological, and genetic) and planting time need to be specific for each site. New site preparation, planting, and post-planting protection methods are useful tools for short term success measured in seedling survival and initial growth. Seedling quality is essential for short and long term success. Different strategies, such as assisted migration and increased genetic diversity of planting material, can provide better chances for long term success measured in growth, fitness, and capability to produce the next, better adapted generation.
Restoration Silviculture: An Ecophysiological Perspective - Lessons learned across 40 years
Authors: Grossnickle Steven C
Published: July 2016

Involvement in forest restoration programs across North America for the past 40 years, dealing with nursery cultural practices, operational seedling quality programs and defining seedling performance on restoration sites has given me a unique perspective, which I have used to examine programs from both a research and operational perspective. Certain biological patterns and themes continually appeared across these programs and this paper discusses five of the most common themes.Learning To Think Like a Tree â€“ It is important for practitioners to develop an understanding of the ecophysiological performance of tree species in a nursery or forest restoration program in order to understand how seedlings grow. This understanding leads to sound biologically based cultural decisions to improve seedling performance.Stress and the Cyclical Nature of Stress Resistance â€“ Seedlings are exposed to stress when environmental conditions limit their performance. Plants develop physiological resistance attributes to mitigate stress and these attributes change throughout the seasonal cycle. Practitioners have developed hardening cultural practices that enhance seedling stress resistance, thereby improving seedling quality and site restoration success.Seedling Quality: Product versus Process â€“ Seedling quality is an important component of successful restoration. Typically seedling quality is examined from a product perspective, thus defining functional integrity, operational grading or sometimes performance potential. An alternative approach monitors the process, with product quality the final output.Planting Stress and Seedling Establishment â€“ Planting stress is prevalent in forest restoration. The act of planting can result in a seedling that does not have proper connections for water movement through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC). Seedling water stress, reduced growth performance and potentially death can occur if this SPAC connection is not restored.Seedling Death: Sometimes Simple and Sometimes Complicated â€“ Seedling death can occur in restoration programs as a result of environmental extremes or incorrect management practices. Some problems can be easy to diagnose and correct practices can be implemented to rectify the problem. Other times, issues are complicated and it can be a challenge to define the potential factors causing seedling death.
Meeting Forest Restoration Challenges: Using the Target Plant Concept
Authors: Dumroese R Kasten , Landis Thomas D , Pinto Jeremiah R , Haase Diane L , Wilkinson Kim W , Davis Anthony S
Published: July 2016

Meeting forest restoration challenges relies on successful establishment of plant materials (e.g., seeds, cuttings, rooted cuttings, or seedlings, etc.; hereafter simply “seedlings”). The Target Plant Concept (TPC) provides a flexible framework that nursery managers and their clients can use to improve the survival and growth of these seedlings. The key tenets of the TPC are that (1) more emphasis is placed on how seedlings perform on the outplanting site rather than on nursery performance, (2) a partnership exists between the nursery manager and the client to determine the target plant based on site characteristics, and (3) that information gleaned from post-planting monitoring is used to improve subsequent plant materials. Through the nursery manager–client partnership, answers to a matrix of interrelated questions define a target plant to meet the reforestation or forest restoration objectives. These questions focus on project objectives; site characteristics, limiting factors, and possible mitigation efforts; species and genetic criteria; stocktype; outplanting tools and techniques; and outplanting window. We provide examples from the southeastern United States, Hawai‛i, and Lebanon on how the TPC process has improved performance of seedlings deployed for reforestation and forest restoration.
Restoration of Spanish pine plantations: A main challenge for the 21st century
Authors: Villar-Salvador Pedro
Published: July 2016

Most of the Iberian Peninsula has a Mediterranean climate, which strongly determines the objectives, strategies and techniques of forest restoration. This communication addresses a main forest restoration challenge for Mediterranean-climate woodlands in Spain: the transformation of old monospecific pine plantations to more diverse, resistant and resilient forest systems. I also present how afforestation methods and some ideas on plant quality have evolved in the last 80 years. Productivity of Mediterranean forests is low, which discourages private owners to invest in woodland management. Therefore, woodland management strongly relies on public funds. Large-scale afforestation in the 20th century has created huge areas of monospecific pine plantations, which have been under thinned and are very simple structurally with almost no understory. The stands are very prone to fires, diseases and drought dieback. However, old pine plantations can facilitate the establishment of late successional trees and shrubs when properly thinned. Therefore, pine plantations are an opportunity for restoring several types of oak-dominated forests at a large scale and resources should invested to preserve and gradually transform these plantations into mixed forests. Funds should be invested in thinning progressively rather than to plant new areas. In many plantations close to oak forests remnants, thinning is the only management required. However, many pine plantations are far from seed sources and enrichment plantations together with thinning are needed. Extensive enrichment plantations are expensive. Therefore, an option is to develop a network of small islets strategically placed inside pine plantations and properly managed as seed foci to foster pine plantation colonization. This option is cheaper than conventional extensive low-density enrichment plantations but research is needed to assess its effectiveness for pine plantation transformation.
Drought and fire stress influence seedling competition in oak forests: fine-root dynamics as indicator of adaptation strategies to climate change
Authors: Montagnoli Antonio , Terzaghi Mattia , Baesso Barbara , Santamaria Rosaria , Scippa Gabriella Stefania , Chiatante Donato
Published: July 2016

Increased summer drought and wildfires as a consequence of continuing climate change are expected to lead to disturbance of Mediterranean ecosystems. Seedlings recruitment is sensitive to both stresses and, therefore, any adaptation and restoration strategy devised to protect these forests should take into account a careful study on their effects on seedling development. As a substantial fraction of net primary productivity of forested ecosystems is channelled in the belowground compartments, the knowledge of how roots behave under stressful conditions becomes of primary importance to select the right management strategy to be implemented. This work tries to enlighten the events occurring in the fine root portion of the root system in young seedlings of three co-existing oak species (Quercus ilex, Quercus trojana and Quercus virgiliana) under controlled conditions. We have made a comparative analysis of the effect of these two stresses, alone or in combination, with the aim to evaluate the tolerance level of these seedlings and, therefore, to obtain an indication of their recruitment potential in the field. The parameters investigated were biomass and a number of morphological traits. Data obtained suggest that a decrease in diameter could be part of a tolerance strategy in all three oaks tested together with a reduction of root length. In addition, tolerance to water shortage could require a reduction of carbon allocated belowground, in particular in the very fine roots, which leads to an overall reduction of the root system dimension. Q. trojana seedlings seem to be the fastest in resuming growth after stress interruption but a good recovery was also found for the remaining two oak species. Although our study provides interesting information regarding a possible tolerance strategy taking place in the fine root compartment when seedlings of these three oak species undergo water stress and fire treatment, more information is needed before any suggestion can be made as to which species would be best suited to make these forests more resistant to global changes.
A synthesis of results on wastes as potting media substitutes for the production of native plant species
Authors: Tsakaldimi Marianthi , Ganatsas Petros
Published: July 2016

The three major functions of a potting medium for plant production is to provide support, to retain water and nutrients, and to allow oxygen diffusion to the roots. A potting medium should meet the requirements of practical plant production such as: to be available and ready at all times, easy to handle, lightweight and to produce uniform plant growth. Constituents such as natural soil, peat, sand, perlite and vermiculite are commonly used as substrates for container plant production. Nevertheless, these materials might be fully or partially replaced by various organic or inorganic wastes, thus achieving environmental and economic benefits. This study presents a synthesis of results extracted from many trials on waste materials as potting media substitutes for the seedlings production of the following native plant species: Pinus halepensis, Quercus ilex, Quercus macropleis and Ceratonia siliqua. The studied waste materials were either organic or inorganic components including: spoils of peridotite, raw rice hulls, coconut fiber and kenaf (the ground stem of the plant H. cannabinus L). The experimental potting media tested were: peat:perlite (3:1), a common medium used for seedling production, peat:spoils of peridotite (3:1), peat:rice hulls (3:1), peat:rice hulls (1:1), peat:coconut fiber (1:1), kenaf (100%) and kenaf:peat:rice hulls (3:1:1). The main physical (water retention characteristics, bulk density, particle density, total porosity) and chemical (N, K, Ca, Mg, soluble P, exchangeable cations, pH and loss on ignition) properties of each potting medium were measured. For each plant species the following seedling quality parameters were assessed: morphological characteristics (shoot height, root collar diameter), shoot and root biomass, Dicksonâ€™s quality index and shoot and root nutrient concentrations. Then seedlings were planted in the field and their survival and growth was monitored. The feasibility of replacing peat or perlite with various waste materials as well as their effect on seedling quality and field performance are discussed.
Issues and perspectives on the use of exotic species in the sustainable management of Canadian forests
Authors: Salmón Rivera Brenda , Barrette Martin , Thiffault Nelson
Published: July 2016

Plantations offer a high potential to respond to the increasing pressure on forests to deliver social, economic, and environmental services. Exotic tree species have a long history of use in plantation forestry, mostly because of their improved productivity compared with that of native species. Because of their impacts on land management and the environment, questions arise regarding the compatibility of exotic tree plantations with sustainable forest management (SFM), the overarching paradigm driving forest legislations in Canada. Our objectives were thus to i) briefly review the historical and current use of exotic tree species in Canada, ii) identify the social, economic and environmental issues related to the use of exotic tree species in Canadian forestry, based on sustainable forest management criteria, and iii) identify perspectives related to the use of exotic tree species in the sustainable management of Canadian forests. Results show that six out of ten Canadian provinces do not have specific legislations to control the use of exotic tree species for reforestation within their borders. The use of exotic tree species is mainly controlled through third-party certification agencies. Exotic tree species represent a small proportion of the planted seedlings in Canada and Norway spruce is the most common one. The use of exotic tree species is compatible with sustainable forest management criteria used in Canada, but forest managers must take into account several issues related to their use and maintain a social license to be entitled to plant them. Issues are highly dependent upon scale. The zoning of management intensity could provide environmental, economic and social benefits, but costs/benefits analyses should be carried out. The concept of naturalness could also be useful to integrate plantations of exotic species in jurisdiction where SFM strategies are based on ecosystem management principles. Monitoring of hybridization and invasiveness of exotic species must be included in landscape analyses to forestall loss of resilience leading to compromised structural and functional ecosystem states. The use of exotics species is recognized as a tool to sequester carbon and facilitate adaptation of forests to global changes, but it is necessary to carefully identified contexts where assisted migration is justified and disentangle planned novel ecosystems coherent with global changes generated by assisted migration from those emerging from invasive species forming undesired states.
Application of plants in remediation of contaminated sites
Authors: Stanković Dragica M , Devetaković Jovana R
Published: July 2016

The concern for environmental protection has existed since the time of first human civilization. As society develops, the chain of changes during the natural flow of processes in ecosystems has been supplemented by a new link - pollutants. They have an effect on all other members of the ecosystem (changes may be visible immediately or harder to spot), which leads to an extremely complex relationship with nature. The values of some parameters of pollutants reached an alarmingly high level. The tendency to reduce the risk of air, soil, water, plant, and animal pollution to a tolerable limit, which would salvage the environment and most importantly human health, became a global problem. Heavy metals as pollutants have been an interest of researchers for their conduct, especially in forest ecosystems, which has been expressed in the previous year's more than ever. With its numerous toxic effects, heavy metals are endangering the existence of plant species that live in already contaminated environments. This is all an argument regarding the fight of modern society that the emission of polluted materials gets reduced in order to avoid multiple negative effects, which can endanger the existence of living organisms in general, as an argument for the continuation of numerous researches that are conducted in this area. The monitoring of heavy metals is of significant importance because their toxicity and accumulations are vital for the ecosystem. Polluted soils can be reduced and they can restore their function using physical, chemical, and biological techniques. Physical and chemical methods are very expensive and cause mainly irreversible changes, thus destroying biological variety. The biological recovery of contaminated soil represents an efficient method of reducing health risks for both mankind and the ecosystem.Â  For this purpose, biological indicators are used. Numerous researches have led to improvements of the initial idea about using plants as a remediation of the environment and the removal of different contaminants from contaminated medias into promising technologies of environmental protection under the title "Phytoremediation". This technology consists of the reduction of concentrations of polluted materials in polluted soils, water, or air. Plants have the ability to store, degrade, or eliminate metals, pesticides, solutions, explosives, and crude oils. Its derivatives and various other contaminants form mediums that contain them. This paper especially considers methods of the possibility of the usage and application of plants in restoring soil contaminated by heavy metals as well as other pollutants.
Nardilysin Is Required for Maintaining Pancreatic β-Cell Function
Authors: Nishi Kiyoto , Sato Yuichi , Ohno Mikiko , Hiraoka Yoshinori , Saijo Sayaka , Sakamoto Jiro , Chen Po-Min , Morita Yusuke , Matsuda Shintaro , Iwasaki Kanako , Sugizaki Kazu , Harada Norio , Mukumoto Yoshiko , Kiyonari Hiroshi , Furuyama Kenichiro , Kawaguchi Yoshiya , Uemoto Shinji , Kita Toru , Inagaki Nobuya , Kimura Takeshi , Nishi Eiichiro
Published: July 2016

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, manifested by reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Several transcription factors enriched in β-cells, such as MafA, control β-cell function by organizing genes involved in GSIS. Here we demonstrate that nardilysin (N-arginine dibasic convertase; Nrd1 and NRDc) critically regulates β-cell function through MafA. Nrd1−/− mice showed glucose intolerance and severely decreased GSIS. Islets isolated from Nrd1−/− mice exhibited reduced insulin content and impaired GSIS in vitro. Moreover, β-cell-specific NRDc-deficient (Nrd1delβ) mice showed a diabetic phenotype with markedly reduced GSIS. MafA was specifically downregulated in islets from Nrd1delβ mice, whereas overexpression of NRDc upregulated MafA and insulin expression in INS832/13 cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that NRDc is associated with Islet-1 in the enhancer region of MafA, where NRDc controls the recruitment of Islet-1 and MafA transcription. Our findings demonstrate that NRDc controls β-cell function via regulation of the Islet-1–MafA pathway.
A Population-Based Study of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease in Association With Prior History of Hypoglycemia Among Patients With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Lu Chin-Li , Shen Hsiu-Nien , Hu Susan C. , Wang Jung-Der , Li Chung-Yi
Published: July 2016

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effects of severe hypoglycemia on risks of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Two nested case-control studies with age- and sex-matched control subjects and using the time-density sampling method were performed separately within a cohort of 10,411 patients with T1DM in Taiwan. The study enrolled 564 nonsurvivors and 1,615 control subjects as well as 743 CVD case subjects and 1,439 control subjects between 1997 and 2011. History of severe hypoglycemia was identified during 1 year, 1–3 years, and 3–5 years before the occurrence of the study outcomes. Conditional logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI of the study outcomes.

RESULTS

Prior severe hypoglycemic events within 1 year were associated with higher risks of all-cause mortality and CVD (adjusted OR 2.74 [95% CI 1.96–3.85] and 2.02 [1.35–3.01], respectively). Events occurring within 1–3 years and 3–5 years before death were also associated with adjusted ORs of 1.94 (95% CI 1.39–2.71) and 1.68 (1.15–2.44), respectively. Significant dose–gradient effects of severe hypoglycemia frequency on mortality and CVD were observed within 5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the CVD incidence may be associated with severe hypoglycemic events occurring in the previous year, the risk of all-cause mortality was associated with severe hypoglycemic events occurring in the preceding 5 years. Exposure to repeated severe hypoglycemic events can lead to higher risks of mortality and CVD.
Elevations in the Fasting Serum Proinsulin–to–C-Peptide Ratio Precede the Onset of Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Sims Emily K. , Chaudhry Zunaira , Watkins Renecia , Syed Farooq , Blum Janice , Ouyang Fangqian , Perkins Susan M. , Mirmira Raghavendra G. , Sosenko Jay , DiMeglio Linda A. , Evans-Molina Carmella
Published: July 2016

OBJECTIVE

We tested whether an elevation in the serum proinsulin–to–C-peptide ratio (PI:C), a biomarker of β-cell endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dysfunction, was associated with progression to type 1 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Fasting total PI and C levels were measured in banked serum samples obtained from TrialNet Pathway to Prevention (PTP) participants, a cohort of autoantibody-positive relatives without diabetes of individuals with type 1 diabetes. Samples were obtained ∼12 months before diabetes onset from PTP progressors in whom diabetes developed (n = 60), and were compared with age-, sex-, and BMI-matched nonprogressors who remained normoglycemic (n = 58). PI:C ratios were calculated as molar ratios and were multiplied by 100% to obtain PI levels as a percentage of C levels.

RESULTS

Although absolute PI levels did not differ between groups, PI:C ratios were significantly increased in antibody-positive subjects in whom there was progression to diabetes compared with nonprogressors (median 1.81% vs. 1.17%, P = 0.03). The difference between groups was most pronounced in subjects who were ≤10 years old, where the median progressor PI:C ratio was nearly triple that of nonprogressors; 90.0% of subjects in this age group within the upper PI:C quartile progressed to the development of diabetes. Logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age and BMI, demonstrated increased odds of progression for higher natural log PI:C ratio values (odds ratio 1.44, 95% CI 1.02, 2.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that β-cell ER dysfunction precedes type 1 diabetes onset, especially in younger children. Elevations in the serum PI:C ratio may have utility in predicting the onset of type 1 diabetes in the presymptomatic phase.
Selective effect of irreversible electroporation on parenchyma of the pancreas and its vascular structures - an in vivo experiment on a porcine model
Authors: Svatoň Roman , Hlavsa Jan , Kala Zdeněk , Procházka Vladimír , Gašparová Katarína , Crha Michal , Nečas Alois , Raušer Petr , Andrašina Tomáš , Válek Vladimír , Svobodová Iva
Published: July 2016

Irreversible electroporation is a local, non-thermal ablation method, where short electrical pulses of high voltage lead to changes in cell membrane permeability and cell death. Recent experimental studies have shown that it does not lead to damage of blood vessels, nerves, bile duct or ureters. The aim of our experimental study was to evaluate the negative effect of irreversible electroporation regarding damage to the vascular wall and porcine pancreatic tissue. Irreversible electroporation of the pancreas was performed in 6 pigs after medial laparotomy. Irreversible electroporation was applied to each pig to the splenic lobe of the pancreas in order to assess damage to the pancreatic tissue and to the duodenal lobe of the pancreas to assess damage to the vascular structure of the pancreatic tissue. Higher ablation electric intensity (minimum 500 V/cm – maximum 1,750 V/cm, step 250 V/cm) in 90 μs pulses was utilized on each pig. After 7 days, macroscopic and microscopic evaluations of en bloc resected specimen (pancreas with duodenum) were performed. During 7 post-ablation days, no deaths or clinical worsening occurred in any of the pigs. Necrotic changes in the pancreatic tissue were recorded at an electric intensity of 750 V/cm. Changes in the outer layers of the wall of the arteries and veins occurred at 1,000 V/cm. Transmural vascular wall damage was not recorded in any case. Irreversible electroporation allows for relatively efficient cell death in the target tissues. Our independent experimental work confirms the safety of this method towards vascular structures located in the ablation zone.
Severino J. Albuquerque and Kathryn Bishop-Sanchez, eds., Performing Brazil: Essays on Culture, Identity, and the Performing Arts
Authors: Unruh Vicky
Published: July 2016

Through studies of a rich range of performance modes, Performing Brazil offers specialists and students of Brazilian studies and performance studies an informative, intellectually energizing read and fresh ways of seeing both performance and Brazil.
S. E. Wilmer and Audronė Žukauskaitė, Deleuze and Beckett
Authors: McMullan Anna
Published: July 2016

Creating a series of compelling dialogues between the French philosopher and the Irish writer, Deleuze and Beckett addresses a wide range of works in their oeuvres, as well as their readings of other artists and philosophers. It opens up insights into Deleuze’s philosophical frameworks and Beckett’s radically innovative aesthetics.
Rehearsing Age
Authors: Fuchs Elinor
Published: July 2016

“Rehearsing Age” is an effort to create a theoretical bridge between theatre studies and the still-emerging field of aging studies. Three case studies of older people facing aging are presented in the light of Brecht’s theory of estrangement, as laid out in his well-known comparison of dramatic theatre and epic theatre. These two dramaturgies map well onto the dominant theories of aging proffered, respectively, by traditional gerontology and the more recent critical age studies. Lacan’s mirror stage theory, of recent interest to age theorists, is also compared with Brecht’s estrangement theory. Finally, the Aristotelian dramaturgical criterion of “recognition,” also acknowledged by Brecht, is introduced as a potentially useful term for age criticism.
The past and future of law and development
Authors: Prado Mariana Mota
Published: July 2016

In this focus feature, David Trubek and Michael Trebilcock present an assessment of the past forty years of the law and development movement and map the challenges that lie ahead. While law and development research today seems to be on more solid ground than it was in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it is still at risk of facing a second demise. The recent revival of the law and development movement has been marked by a research agenda increasingly attuned to the importance of local context. On the one hand, contextualization has countered the ethnocentric analysis produced in the Global North and exported to developing countries in the 1960s. On the other hand, attention to context has caused a severe fragmentation of the academic dialogue, as the concern with adaptation to particular circumstances defies any attempt to somehow connect these research efforts in one single conceptual framework. The new generation of law and development scholars is thus left with the challenge of maintaining contextualization, while avoiding letting the movement break down into a ‘series of self-referential silos.’
New Microsatellite Markers for Two Sympatric Tinamou Species, the Ornate Tinamou (Nothoprocta ornata) and Darwin's Nothura (Nothura darwinii)
Authors: Deck Lina Maria Giraldo , Habel Jan Christian , Curto Manuel , Husemann Martin , Sturm Sarah , Garitano-Zavala Álvaro , Meimberg Harald
Published: July 2016

Tinamous (Tinamidae) represent one of the most ancient living avian lineages but their life history traits are relatively unstudied. Here we identified microsatellite loci for two sympatric tinamou species, the Ornate Tinamou ( Nothoprocta ornata) and the Darwin's Nothura ( Nothura darwinii) from low coverage Illumina sequencing of genomic DNA. The experiment yielded a large number of candidate loci. We designed primers and tested them for successful amplification in 1 to 2 populations of the target species, tested for deviation from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and the presence of null alleles, the levels of polymorphism and potential cross-amplification. All 30 and 24 loci amplified consistently, in the Ornate Tinamou and in Darwin's Nothura, respectively. In the Ornate Tinamou, 25 loci were polymorphic and in the Darwin's Nothura 12, with 2 to 14 alleles per locus in both species. The expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.054 to 0.917 in the Ornate Tinamou and from 0.044 to 0.908 in the Darwin's Nothura. 23 (40%) of 54 loci were successfully cross-amplified. These newly discovered, polymorphic microsatellite loci represent a valuable tool for future studies on social behaviour, parentage and genetic population structure in tinamous.