bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gains and losses in surface solar radiation with dynamic
aerosols in regional climate simulations for Europe
Authors: Jerez Sonia , Palacios-Peña Laura , Gutiérrez Claudia , Jiménez-Guerrero Pedro , López-Romero Jose María , Montávez Juan Pedro
Published: August 2020

Abstract. The solar resource can be highly influenced by clouds and atmospheric aerosol, which has been named by the IPCC as the most uncertainty climate forcing agent. Nonetheless, Regional Climate Models (RCMs) hardly ever model dynamically atmospheric aerosol concentration and their interaction with radiation and clouds, in contrast to Global Circulation Models (GCMs). The objective of this work is to evince the role of the interactively modeling of aerosol concentrations and their interactions with radiation and clouds in Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model simulations with a focus on summer mean surface downward solar radiation (RSDS) and over Europe. The results show that the response of RSDS is mainly led by the aerosol effects on cloudiness, which explain well the differences between the experiments in which aerosol-radiation and aerosol-radiation-cloud interactions are taken into account or not. Under present climate, a reduction about 5% in RSDS was found when aerosols are dynamically solved by the RCM, which is larger when only aerosol-radiation interactions are considered. However, for future projections, the inclusion of aerosol-radiation-cloud interactions results in the most negative RSDS change pattern (while with slight values), showing noticeable differences with the projections from either the other RCM experiments or from their driving GCM (which do hold some significant positive signals). Differences in RSDS among experiments are much more softer under clear-sky conditions.
Landslide risk management analysis on expansive residential areas. Case study of La Marina (Alicante, Spain)
Authors: Cantarino Isidro , Carrion Miguel Angel , Palencia-Jimenez Jose Sergio , Martínez-Ibáñez Víctor
Published: August 2020

Abstract. Urban expansion is a phenomenon that has been observed since the mid-20th century in more developed regions. One aspect of it is the urban development of holiday resorts with second homes that generally appeared following world political stabilisation. This residential expansion has often happened with scarce control, especially in its early stages, allowing areas to be occupied that are not so suitable in terms of the environment, culture and landscape, not to mention the very geological risks of flooding, earthquakes and landslides. Indeed, the risk of landslides for buildings occupying land in zones at such risk is not a matter solely attributable to the geomorphological characteristics of the land itself, nor is it simply a question of chance; it is also due to its management of such land, generally because of a lack of specific regulations. This study aims to lay down objective criteria to find how suitable a specific local entity's risk management is by looking at the evolution of its urban development procedures. It also aims to determine what causes the incidence of landslide risk (geomorphology, chance, land management, etc.), and finally to suggest control tools for the public bodies tasked with monitoring such matters.
Uncertainty assessment for 3D geologic modeling of fault zones based on geologic inputs and prior knowledge
Authors: Krajnovich Ashton , Zhou Wendy , Gutierrez Marte
Published: August 2020

Abstract. Characterizing the zone of damaged and altered rock surrounding a fault surface is highly relevant to geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering works in the subsurface. Evaluating the uncertainty associated with 3D geologic modeling of these fault zones is made possible using the popular and flexible input-based uncertainty propagation approach to geologic model uncertainty assessment – termed probabilistic geomodeling. To satisfy the automation requirements of probabilistic geomodeling while still preserving the key geometry of fault zones in the subsurface, a clear and straightforward modeling approach is developed based on four geologic inputs used in implicit geologic modeling algorithms (surface trace, structural orientation, vertical termination depth and fault zone thickness). The rationale applied to identifying and characterizing the various sources of uncertainty affecting each input are explored and provided using open-source codes. In considering these sources of uncertainty, a novel model formulation is implemented using prior geologic knowledge (i.e., empirical and theoretical relationships) to parameterize modeling inputs which are typically subjectively interpreted by the modeler (e.g., vertical termination depth of fault zones). Additionally, the application of anisotropic spherical distributions to modeling disparate levels of information available regarding a fault zone's dip azimuth and dip angle is demonstrated, providing improved control over the structural orientation uncertainty envelope. The probabilistic geomodeling approach developed is applied to a simple fault zone geologic model built from historically available geologic mapping data, allowing for a visual comparison of the independent contributions of each modeling input on the combined model uncertainty, revealing that vertical termination depth and structural orientation uncertainty dominate model uncertainty at depth, while surface trace uncertainty dominates model uncertainty near the ground surface. The method is also successfully applied to a more complex fault network model containing intersecting major and minor fault zones. The impacts of the model parameterization choices, the fault zone modeling approach and the effects of fault zone interactions on the final geologic model uncertainty assessment are discussed.
Transhumanismo y neuroeducación en perspectiva orteguiana
Authors: Gracia-Calandín Javier
Published: August 2020

Este artículo incide en la significatividad de los fines de la educación y la importancia vital de los deseos. Frente a las pretensiones de una tecnología a merced del mercado de las promesas transhumanistas, se retoma la pedagogía del cascabel de Ortega y la importancia de cultivar deseos ascendentes, que no tienen su fundamento en la técnica sino en la vida humana (y no posthumana). El artículo concluye con una defensa del compromiso ético-cívico de una genuina educación humanista radicada en el sentimiento moral de la compasión.
State Environmental Expenditures in New England and Their Relationship to Other Programmatic and Political Metrics
Authors: Blauvelt Robert P.
Published: August 2020

State environmental agencies have developed into one of the primary mechanisms by which public health and quality of life is managed and protected within the United States. This analysis attempts to provide some understanding of what economic and political factors may be influencing funding for state environmental agencies in six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The demographic makeup of New England, an area that is relatively well-off, highly educated, socially liberal, and diverse, make it the ideal place to test the relationships between state environmental agency spending and other key economic and political metrics.Financial data sets evaluated as part of this study include state spending on 11 common programmatic areas. Non-financial data sets in this analysis include the percentage of voters casting ballots by political party for Democratic presidential candidates, U.S. Senators, U.S Representatives, and Governors, as well as the composition by political party of the upper and lower houses of state legislatures. A Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient was used to compare each state’s environmental expenditures with the 17 independent variable data sets.Natural Resource spending was positively correlated with Education spending in five states. Total (state) Expenditures also correlate positively with Natural Resource spending. General Revenues, similar to Total Expenditures, positively correlate with Natural Resource spending in five states, suggesting that state environmental agencies are effective bureaucratically in lobbying for and obtaining needed funding. State environmental agencies funding correlated positively with the percent of the electorate voting for the Democratic Presidential candidate in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. This correlation is similar to those noted by other researchers, but the remaining state-level political data sets were less useful in establishing potential relationships.
Artificially Intelligent Sexbots and Sexual Solipsism—A Posthumanist Ethical Approach
Authors: Schussler Aura-Elena
Published: August 2020

This article aims to question—from the perspective of posthumanist theories—the normativity of human sexuality, located at the borderline between the technological imminence of AI sexbots and the humanistic legacy of Western socio-cultural constructions, governed by masculine bias. The purpose is to emphasize that as long as this normativity remains encapsulated within the boundaries of the culture of Western metaphysics—characterized by the anthropocentrist, dualist, and speciesist paradigm—the sexual domain will permanently constitute an antagonistic ground of discrimination and binary hierarchical relations, an aspect that will permanently attract the possibility of manifesting sexual solipsism. The general objective follows the paradigm shifts that this hypothesis of sex with weak/strong AI sexbots can bring about on an ethical level, along with the risks/benefits that may appear on the social level. The theoretical objective consists of a posthumanist analysis of the phenomenon of weak/strong AI sexbots, which calls into question both the ontology of the person and Rae Langton’s sexual solipsism theory—specific to the humancentric paradigm. The methodology used is that of the critics/arguments brought from the perspective of posthumanist philosophy (Rosi Braidotti, Francesca Ferrando), supplemented by the deconstructivist philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, in the direction of arguing for a postdualistic rhizomatic sexuality, which upholds an ethic of diversity and of continuous becoming within the limits of an emergent ontology of differences.
Interpreting Posthumanism with Nurse Work
Authors: Smith Jamie B. , Willis Eva
Published: August 2020

The scarcity of research into care work shows that it is still unclear “what constitutes the discrete fundamentals of care.” It is this invisibility of care in the time of posthuman convergence in which we find ourselves. In this article we argue that care work (understood in this article through nursing) and posthumanism illuminate human and more-than-human world making. Practical experiences of nursing can help us understand world making with posthuman philosophies and knowledge production, while the critical theories of posthumanism can point us to a humanistic understanding of care work. Posthumanism challenges commonplace assumptions of concepts from which we frame our everyday lives. We show nurse work through a posthuman lens and begin to demonstrate opportunities to make posthumanism perceptible. In approaching nursing from this perspective, we then suggest new possibilities for approaching nurse work and care.
Gender Differences in Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Constraints: Do the Constraints Predict University Agriculture Graduates’ Attitudes towards Entrepreneurship?
Authors: Baliyan Som Pal , Mosia Paseka Andrew , Baliyan Pritika Singh
Published: August 2020

This quantitative study analyzed and predicted gender differences of agriculture graduates’ attitudes towards and challenges in entrepreneurship in Botswana. The study adopted a descriptive and correlational survey research design. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used for data collection through a survey of randomly sampled 149 final year agriculture graduate students (n=149). Inferential statistical tools of Independent t-test and Regression analysis were used for data analysis. The findings of the study determined three important attitudinal factors as: entrepreneurship results in economic growth of a country, employability and income generation and, entrepreneurship improves individual and social growth. Three important constraints in entrepreneurship were lack of land, lack of proper infrastructure and, lack of capital. These top attitudinal factors as well as constraints were the same for the male and female graduates despite of their ranking and importance. A gender difference in students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship was established while no gender difference in the challenges in entrepreneurship was found. Out of fifteen constraints in entrepreneurship under study, only three constraints namely, lack of land, high competition in market and lack of capital, were determined as significant predictors of the graduates’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship. It is recommended that these three factors be made priorities while making policies for entrepreneurship development in the country. Further study is recommended to explore the perceptions of graduates on the possible ways to improve on these three predicting constraints and explore latent constraints predicting graduates’ attitude towards entrepreneurship. Those findings may provide better ideas in planning policies for entrepreneurial development among agriculture graduates in Botswana.
The Analysis of the Influence of Information Environment on the Efficiency of Training Future Masters for Research Activity
Authors: Bopko Ihor Z. , Kryshchuk Bogdan S. , Romanovska Liudmila I. , Bryndikov Yuriy L. , Synyuk Natalia V.
Published: August 2020

The article presents the results of research on the problem of training future masters of humanities for research activity under the conditions of the information environment. The authors reviewed scientific literature, determined the mainstreams of the future masters’ training for research activities, and the dynamics of their readiness for these activities, studied the influence of the information environment of higher educational institutions on the level of the development for research activities. They also developed the provisions for methodological recommendations. The information environment is understood as the possibility to obtain the necessary data, evidence, hypotheses, theories, etc. Much attention is paid to ensuring the quality of professional training through the introduction of stagewise higher education, the formation of the future masters’ professional mobility under the labour market conditions. Based on the review of psychological and pedagogical literature, we determined the pedagogical conditions for the development of future masters' readiness for research activities: ensuring the future masters’ training within the modern information environment; formation of the future masters’ motivation for research activities in the information environment; introduction of a competent approach into the future masters of humanities training; ensuring the integration of academic subjects in the future masters’ training for research activity. Based on the results of the study, we determined the main tasks of further research. The authors confirmed the reliability of the research results by the Student’s t-test and Fisher’s F-test.
Pedagogical Conditions of Developing Professional Culture in Law Students
Authors: Kononenko Tetiana V. , Mukhina Halyna V. , Ponomarenko Kateryna V. , Novikova Olha O.
Published: August 2020

The article substantiates the pedagogical conditions of developing professional culture in law students. To this end, the authors reviewed scientific (pedagogical, psychological, legal) literature, taking into account particularities of professional activity of future lawyers, as well as educational standards of training law students in higher educational institutions (HEIs) of Ukraine, and the component structure of professional culture of future lawyers. The above steps suggested that ensuring efficient development of the phenomenon under study is possible through the realization of a set of pedagogical factors, namely: formation of professional-subject constructs of professional culture of law students in the process of solving simulated professional situations; involvement of law students in professional activity through legal clinics; creation of a professional and cultural educational environment in HEIs. We selected the pedagogical conditions with emphasis on the components of professional culture of law students. Thus, each specific pedagogical condition was directed to the formation of a specific component of the phenomenon under study. We applied A number of methods of scientific knowledge and special techniques in the course of the experimental research to study the level of the development of professional culture in law students. To check the effectiveness of the implementation of certain pedagogical conditions, we conducted a pedagogical experiment, which consisted of a series of successive stages. The students of the control groups studied with the use of the traditional system of training law students. In the experimental groups, pedagogical conditions of developing professional culture in law students were realized by implementation of competent, contextual, systematic approaches and innovative methods were used during classes in a number of professional subjects. The analysis of the indicators of the level of professional culture development in law students shows that there are students with low levels in both categories of groups. Therefore, the improvement of the professional training of lawyers in the direction of further development of their professional culture according to our method becomes topical, since significant positive results were obtained in the experimental groups.
Exploring Possibilities of Project Work to Transfer Pedagogy: Cases of Community High Schools in Nepal
Authors: Acharya Kamal Prasad , Acharya Milan , Acharya Pitambar , Gywali Kalpana
Published: August 2020

This paper discusses the possibilities of student-centered and project-based learning in science, health and population subjects of community high school students in Nepal. Besides, it deals with how high school students meaningfully engaged in participatory activities and consequently acknowledge the necessity for creative and active teaching learning activities. Despite various contextual realities and identities, the study explored few contextually appropriate project methods to transform teaching learning activities in science, health and population subjects in the community high schools. The qualitative method was applied in this research. Data/information was collected from classroom observation, in-depth interviews and informal conversations. The data from all the sources were analyzed by content-thematic and conversation analysis keeping in minds to explore the possibilities of project work of learning. The study found that students’ engagement in project activities as a part of study science, health and population subjects are positive and targeted towards learning competencies. Nevertheless, to apply this method, school head teachers, teachers and local authority related to education need to play vital roles for the effective implementation of project works in the community high schools in Nepal.
Wpływ wieku i płci na cechy funkcjonalności powiązane z precyzją wykonywania zadań
Authors: Roman-Liu Danuta , Mazur-Różycka Joanna , Tokarski Tomasz
Published: August 2020

Celem przeprowadzenia prezentowanych w artykule badań była ocena wpływu wieku i płci na cechy funkcjonalności powiązane z precyzją i szybkością wykonywania zadań. Badaniami objęto dwie 120-osobowe grupy: młodszą w wieku 20-30 i starszą w przedziale 55-67 lat. Mierzono zmienne opisujące jakość wykonywania czynności precyzyjnych, koordynacji wzrokowo-ruchowej oko-ręka-noga oraz koordynacji wzrokowo-ruchowej w teście krzyżowym. W zmiennych wszystkich testów zanotowano zróżnicowanie wartości zarówno ze względu na wiek, jak i płeć osób badanych. Najmniejsze różnice między kobietami a mężczyznami występują w wartościach zmiennych testu koordynacji oko-ręka-noga. Wyniki wyraźnie wskazują, iż wykonywanie zadań wymagających precyzji i szybkości działania uwarunkowane jest wiekiem, a w przypadku niektórych zmiennych także i płcią.
Supported-Metal Oxide Nanoparticles-Potential Photocatalysts
Authors: T. Tan Vu , The Vinh La
Published: August 2020

Recently, nanosized metal oxides play an essential role in the photocatalytic system due to their ability to create charge carriers during the light irradiation. Metal oxide nanoparticles display excellent light absorption properties, outstanding charge transport characteristics, which are suitable in the photocatalytic system for the treatment of wastewater. Most of the photocatalysts found in the literature are in the form of powders. Only a few supported photocatalytic systems have been reported. The advantages of supported photocatalysts, such as that they produce a small pressure drop, have good mechanical stability and are easily separated from the reaction medium, make them superior to conventional powder photocatalysts. In this chapter, the definition of supported-metal oxide nanoparticles as the photocatalyst and their synthesis methodology are detailed discussed.
Lifestyles, Health, and Life Satisfaction among the Portuguese Seniors
Authors: Isabel Tavares Aida
Published: August 2020

This chapter focuses on the interaction between lifestyles, health, and life satisfaction of Portuguese seniors. The aim of the analysis is to find the main determinants of health and life satisfaction and to verify the importance of lifestyle variables as determinants of health and life satisfaction. We used data collected by the National Health Survey of 2014 and estimated two ordered probits. The main results show that not all lifestyle variables are meaningful in explaining self-assessed health and life satisfaction. The determinants of the health status include education and income; however, it can be assumed that overall good health, family, or close people and income contribute to life satisfaction. A general profile of the Portuguese seniors is provided; however, the results obtained here are changing as a new scenario is emerging, generation X enters old age.
Factors Affecting Vision and Visio-Spatial Intelligence (VSI) in Sport: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Millard Lourens , Shaw Ina , Breukelman Gerrit Jan , Shaw Brandon Stuwart
Published: August 2020

: Sport has become increasingly competitive, prompting the need to determine, as far as possible, any likely performance advantage. While the focus of athletic research, testing, and training is on the physiological and physical characteristics of the sport, visual abilities not only affect sport performance directly, but also affect the acquisition of motor skills. Vision, and visual-spatial intelligence (VSI), are a relatively new and underexplored area of athletic performance. As with physiological and physical parameters, a range of factors affect vision and VSI in sporting activities. This review of the literature is a first attempt to summarize and compile an overview of the factors affecting vision and VSI in athletes, covering those previously connected with sport, as well as those hitherto not associated with athletic activities, but that could also play a part in sports performance. The evidence from this review suggests that while current research still tends to focus on single factors affecting vision and VSI, a large number of such factors have been identified that could affect vision and VSI. This offers new opportunities for researchers to investigate the effects of a combination of factors, and for conditioning and/or sports vision specialists to explore further possibilities for competitive advantage.
Magnitude of Mental Distress and its Determinants Among Medical and Health Science Regular Undergraduate Students at Jimma University: Institutional Based Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Gebeyaw Liyew Agenagnew , Tilahun Desalew , Tesfaye Yonas
Published: August 2020

Background: Mental distress is a group of mental problems manifested by symptoms of insomnia, fatigue, irritability, forgetfulness, difficulty in concentrating, and somatic complaints. University students have more severe mental health problems than the general population. Objectives: Therefore, this study attempted to assess the magnitude of mental distress and its determinants among medical and health science regular undergraduate students at Jimma University. Methods: A descriptive institutional-based with cross-sectional study design was conducted at Jimma University from March to April 2017 on regular undergraduate medical and health science students of the Faculty of Health Science. Study participants were selected from each batch using simple random sampling techniques and from the department by lottery method. Mental distress was assessed by using Self-Reporting questionnaire-20. Participants with score of eight and above on the Self-Reporting questionnaire-20 were considered as having mental distress. Chi-square and descriptive statistics were done using SPSS-20. Results: From a total of 369 study participants, about 354 gave the response rate of (95.9%). The magnitude of mental distress among medical and health science students was 35.03 %. Most of the respondents were males by sex and the mean age of the respondents was 23 years with SD ± 6. Age, sex, year of study, the practice of religion, presence of family history of mental illness, department choice, and ever use of substance (chat chewing and alcohol) were predictor variables and significantly associated with mental distress at P < 0.05. Conclusions: The magnitude of mental distress in our study was 35.03% and it needs intervention and addressing the mentioned factors significantly associated with mental distress.
Pain Management with Acetaminophen in Patients with Liver Diseases: A Review Article
Authors: Alavian Seyed Moayed , Parsian Zahra , Sanaie Sarvin , Mahmoodpoor Ata , Soleimanpour Hassan
Published: August 2020

Context: Pain management is essential for all patients, including those with liver diseases. Opiates should be used with caution in patients with liver diseases as they are well-known for constipation, sedation, and precipitation of encephalopathy. Meanwhile, the principal fear of the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in liver disease is the danger of hastening renal impairment. Thus, acetaminophen is considered first-line therapy because of the side effects of other analgesics. However, there is an assumption that patients with chronic liver disease may be in danger when consuming the drug at therapeutic doses. Methods: Data were extracted from 33 papers. All articles were published until July 2020. The search was done using the following keywords: acetaminophen, paracetamol, cirrhosis, liver disease, chronic hepatitis, and safety in reliable databases. A total of 414 articles were selected some of which were excluded owing to irrelevance, studies on animals and the lack of access to the full text. Results: Cirrhotic patients could safely take acetaminophen in adjusted doses. Although acetaminophen was safely administered in therapeutic doses in alcoholic patients, there were reports of hepatotoxicity even in therapeutic doses. Acetaminophen was not recommended in patients with acute hepatitis but could be safely used in patients with chronic hepatitis. Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were susceptible to acetaminophen toxicity. Conclusions: In spite of the conception that acetaminophen has dire consequences in liver disease, it can be safely administered in adjusted doses in most liver diseases.
The Notion of Accomplishment in Levinas
Authors: Calin Rodolphe ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: August 2020

The aim of this article is to emphasize the notion of accomplishment in Levinas, partly building on the unpublished works of the author, where it appears as a keyword of his philosophy. It is a matter of highlighting the double filiation of this term, as an extension of the Husserlian notion of intuitive fullfilment to the entire existence and as a resumption of the hermeneutical and theological notion of figural interpretation. By showing how Levinas applies the structure symbol-accomplishment to the existence, envisaged in its double dynamism of position and participation, this article intends to emphazise the importance—but also the difficulties—of the notion of history in his philosophy.
Plato, Levinas, and Transcendence
Authors: Morgan Michael L. ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: August 2020

Although Levinas frequently references Plato positively, they are engaged in different philosophical enterprises. Whereas Levinas takes his place in the tradition of modern moral philosophy for which the atrocities of the twentieth century are undeniable burdens, Plato is concerned with cultivating dispositions that promote psychological and social harmony. For Levinas, Plato’s Form of the Good signals a dual commitment, on the one hand to the primacy of ethical action to existence, and on the other to the connection between ethics and transcendence, in the sense of absolute otherness or separation. But this reading is anachronistic.
Arte urbana e os processos educomunicacionais: o que se pesquisa no brasil?
Authors: Da Silva Rafaella Luiza Antunes , Baptaglin Leila Adriana
Published: August 2020

Esta pesquisa objetivou realizar um estado do conhecimento sobre Arte Urbana e suas diferentes formas de expressões na interlocução com os processos educomunicacionais vivenciados no ambiente escolar. Foram realizadas investigações no repositório de dissertações e teses da CAPES nos períodos de 2010 a 2019. Com este levantamento foram encontrados 72 trabalhos que tem relação com a pesquisa e encontram-se organizados nas categorias: 1. Arte Urbana e a interlocução com a produção artística; 1.1. Psicologia/sociologia; 2. Arte Urbana e a interlocução com a construção/ocupação espacial; 2.1 Interlocução/discussões sobre/na América Latina; 2.2 Luta e relações políticas; 3. Arte Urbana e interlocução com a educação; e 4. Arte Urbana e a interlocução com o feminino. Diante desse estudo identificamos a escassa produção referente ao tema na região norte (apenas 3 pesquisas, mais especificamente em Belém-PA) e, ainda, a falta de aprofundamento investigativo ao que se refere aos processos educomunicacionais e a interlocução com o ambiente escolar.
Relatos de uma pesquisa com jovens estudantes de Juiz de Fora: audiovisual e gênero
Authors: Machado Carla Silva , Duarte Rosália Maria
Published: August 2020

O presente artigo trata das relações entre jovens estudantes do segundo ciclo do ensino fundamental, da cidade de Juiz de Fora/MG, com filmes que têm jovens como protagonistas. O foco da discussão são as percepções desses jovens quanto às representações de gênero nos filmes. Para abordar essas percepções, recorremos a resultados de um estudo desenvolvido com jovens de uma escola da rede pública municipal de ensino. A pesquisa-intervenção teve como principal procedimento a realização de oficinas de visualização e discussão de filmes, cujo objetivo era entender a relação daqueles jovens com o audiovisual. Uma das questões que emergiram no desenrolar das atividades tratou das representações de gênero construídas no contato com narrativas audiovisuais. Os resultados foram discutidos à luz dos estudos de comunicação latino-americanos, tendo como principais referências Jésus Martín-Barbero e Néstor García-Canclini, e dos estudos de gênero e de suas relações com as mídias, desenvolvidos por Guacira Louro.
A performance evaluation in multivariate outliers identification methods
Authors: Barbosa Josino José , Duarte Anderson Ribeiro , Martins Helgem Souza Ribeiro
Published: August 2020

Methodologies for identifying multivariate outliers are extremely important in statistical analysis. Outliers may reveal relevant information to variables under investigation. Statistical applications without prior identification of possible extreme values may yield controversial results and induce mistaken decision making. In many contexts, outliers are points of great practical interest. Given this, this paper seeks to discuss methodologies for the detection of multivariate outliers through a fair and adequate comparative technique in their simulation procedure. The comparison considers detection techniques based on Mahalanobis distance, besides a methodology based on cluster analysis technique. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy metrics are used to measure the method quality. An analysis of the computational time required to perform the procedures is evaluated. The technique based on cluster analysis revealed a noticeable superiority over the others in detection quality and also in execution time.
Diagnosis of the Simplified Municipal Plan for Integrated Solid Waste Management in 16 small municipalities in the western region of the State of Paraná, Brazil
Authors: Correia Juliana Elisabete , Gasques Ana Carla Fernandes , Juliani Bruno Henrique Toná , Okawa Cristhiane Michiko Passos
Published: August 2020

Brazilian municipalities are responsible for the management of urban solid waste generated in their territories; When this management is performed improperly, it generates environmental, social, economic and health problems. The National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) instituted the Simplified Municipal Plan for Integrated Solid Waste Management (PMSGIRS) for municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants. Thus, this article aims to diagnose PMSGIRS from 16 municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants in western region of Parana, verifying that they satisfactorily meet the PNRS content. For this, a checklist was prepared containing 282 items, by consulting the manuals of the Ministry of the Environment and Brazilian Laws on the subject. As a result, it was found that only one municipality does not have its PMSGIRS and another has the Intermunicipal Plan for Integrated Solid Waste Management, four have Municipal Basic Sanitation Plan that includes the solid waste axis and only ten have PMSGIRS. Most plans (78%) do not satisfactorily meet the PNRS content, achieving less than 70% of the required content. Only three plans (22%) obtained a rate considered satisfactory. It is concluded that these plans should be urgently reviewed, with a view to including missing content.
Assessment of seed quality and sex determination in hop seedlings using molecular markers
Authors: Machado Marília Pereira , Belniaki Andreza Cerioni , Bernert André Felipe , Gomes Erik Nunes , Filho João Carlos Bespalhok , Panobianco Maristela , Deschamps Cícero
Published: August 2020

Brazil is the world's third largest beer consumer and currently imports all of its hops for the brewing industry. Such a fact justifies the selection of hop genotypes adapted for cultivation locally, which requires high quality seeds and efficient sex determination of the seedlings. The objectives of this study were to develop a methodology to assess hop seed quality and to efficiently determine hop seedling sex through the use of male-specific molecular markers. Freshly harvested hop seeds were germinated with and without pre-chilling (3-5 ° C) for 3, 6 and 12 weeks and then germinated at 20 or 25 ° C in the presence or absence of light, evaluating germination percentage and germination speed index. F1 progenies were obtained from after seed germination in a greenhouse and seedlings sex was determined using male-specific molecular markers. The best conditions for physiological quality assessment of hop seeds used in the present study were pre-chilling for 12 weeks, followed by germination at 25 ° C, and normal seedling counts at 7 and 15 days. The progeny submitted to molecular marker sexing was composed of 61.3% female plants. The established methodologies presented here can be considered efficient and may contribute to expedite hops breeding programs.
Drying kinetics of Chinese garlic (Allium tuberosum) and its effect on color
Authors: Rios Paula De Almeida , De Andrade Ednilton Tavares , Moreira Kátia Soares , De Oliveira Filipe Da Silva , Araújo Bárbara Lemes Outeiro
Published: August 2020

Dehydrated garlic is an important component both for culinary and medicinal purposes. However, there is a scarcity of studies that characterizes its drying kinetics. Thus, the objective of this work was to study the drying kinetics of Chinese garlic (Allium tuberosum), as well as to analyze the color effect resulting from each treatment. The garlic bulbs were cut into thin slices with a width of 2 and 3 mm, subjected to the drying air temperature of 35, 45, 55 and 70 °C in a mechanical dryer of a fixed layer with forced convection. Was performed a non-linear regression analysis by the Quasi-Newton method, for adjustment to 11 mathematical models to the experimental data of drying. The Midilli equation was the mathematical model that best characterized all the drying temperatures, for the experimental data. The diffusion coefficient presented values between 1.46 x 10-11 and 7.32 x 10-11 m2.s-1. The increase of the drying air temperature caused the dimming of the samples with a reduction of the L* coordinate and reduction of the yellow of the samples according to the coordinate results h*. The temperature of 70 °C was detrimental to the maintenance of the Chinese garlic coloration.
Pediatric Aggressive Mature B-Cell Lymphomas, Version 2.2020, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology
Authors: Davies Kimberly , Barth Matthew , Armenian Saro , Audino Anthony N. , Barnette Phillip , Cuglievan Branko , Ding Hilda , Ford James B. , Galardy Paul J. , Gardner Rebecca , Hanna Rabi , Hayashi Robert , Kovach Alexandra E. , Machnitz Andrea Judit , Maloney Kelly W. , Marks Lianna , Page Kristin , Reilly Anne F. , Weinstein Joanna L. , Xavier Ana C. , McMillian Nicole R. , Freedman-Cass Deborah A.
Published: August 2020

Pediatric aggressive mature B-cell lymphomas are the most common types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children, and they include Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). These diseases are highly aggressive but curable, the treatment is complex, and patients may have many complicated supportive care issues. The NCCN Guidelines for Pediatric Aggressive Mature B-Cell Lymphomas provide guidance regarding pathology and diagnosis, staging, initial treatment, disease reassessment, surveillance, therapy for relapsed/refractory disease, and supportive care for clinicians who treat sporadic pediatric BL and DLBCL.
Symptom Burden, Perceived Control, and Quality of Life Among Patients Living With Multiple Myeloma
Authors: Zaleta Alexandra K. , Miller Melissa F. , Olson Julie S. , Yuen Eva Y.N. , LeBlanc Thomas W. , Cole Craig E. , McManus Shauna , Buzaglo Joanne S.
Published: August 2020

Background: New therapies for multiple myeloma (MM) have improved survival rates but often expose patients to heightened toxicities and prolonged treatment, leading to increasing complications and side effects. We evaluated the association between symptom burden, perceived control over illness, and quality of life (QoL) among a national sample of patients with MM. Methods: For this observational, cross-sectional study, we used data from the Cancer Experience Registry research initiative to examine symptom- and functioning-related concerns among 289 patients with MM across the illness trajectory. We applied hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses to explore associations between symptom burden and perceived control over illness with QoL indicators: depression, anxiety, and social satisfaction. Results: In our sample, 73% of participants with MM reported currently receiving treatment; 39% experienced relapse; 56% received 1 to 2 autologous transplants, 10% received ≥3 autologous transplants, and 4% received allogeneic and autologous transplants; 30% had not received a stem cell transplant. Average time since diagnosis was 4.4 years. The most highly endorsed concerns included eating and nutrition (61%), physical activity (59%), moving around (56%), fatigue (55%), pain (52%), and sleep (46%). Only 27% believed they had control over their disease, whereas 48% perceived having control over the physical side effects of MM. Approximately one-third of the variance in anxiety and depression and nearly two-thirds of variance in social satisfaction were explained by sociodemographic, clinical, and symptom burden variables. Perceived control over illness significantly predicted depression and anxiety, but not social satisfaction. Our results highlight substantial concern among patients with MM about physical symptoms and function. Additionally, greater symptom burden significantly accounted for poorer QoL, and lower perceived control over illness was linked to depression and anxiety. Conclusions: Patients with MM and survivors experience substantive long-term QoL issues. Together, these findings point to the critical need for comprehensive symptom management, integrated palliative care, and enhancement of social and emotional support for individuals with MM.
Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Transplantation in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Relapsed Mature B-Cell NHL
Authors: Gardenswartz Aliza , Cairo Mitchell S.
Published: August 2020

Although children, adolescents, and young adults with newly diagnosed B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma enjoy excellent overall survival with current chemoimmunotherapy, those with relapsed and/or refractory disease have a dismal prognosis. Although most clinicians would agree that hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation after reinduction therapy is frontline therapy for these patients, there is no consensus as to what type of hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation promises the best event-free and overall survival. This review outlines the disparate types of stem cell therapy that have been used in this difficult-to-treat population as well as the role of maintenance and CAR T-cell therapy in conjunction with stem cell therapy.
Too Much ‘Stuff’ and the Wrong Space: A Conceptual Framework of Material Possessions
Authors: Marco Elena , Williams Katie , Oliveira Sonja
Published: August 2020

Space for living in new build houses in the UK is at premium and households have more stuff than ever before. The way this stuff is accommodated in dwellings can significantly affect residents’ quality of life and well-being. This paper presents a new conceptualisation of material possessions that could be of use to those involved in housing design. Three universal characteristics of material possessions; value, temporality and visibility are used to identify the space in the home that possessions might require. A conceptual framework that integrates these characteristics with spatial information about the interior of the home is developed. The paper argues that the conceptual framework could help designers, policymakers and house builders to better understand first the nature of material possessions, and second how those possessions could be accommodated in contemporary homes, ultimately supporting improved quality of life and wellbeing for households.
From Analogue to Virtual: Urban Interiors in the Pandemicene
Authors: Hinkel Rochus Urban
Published: August 2020

This paper speculates on the potential long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the way we interact with each other in cities by focusing on the socio-spatial concept of the urban interior. How will our everyday life in cities change? What changes will be wrought on our informal encounters and our temporal occupation of places and spaces? What impact will future urban planning have on the way we move through, work and study in and act as individuals and collectives in our cities? In order to look ahead, it is worth reflecting on historical examples. Studying the ways diseases have influenced how we shape and design, control and govern, explore and occupy urban environments suggests that we will likely have to rethink of our cities in anticipation of future pandemics. No doubt, post-COVID-19, we will witness changes in urban politics with consequences in urban planning and design. We will see a continued impact on an informal level too, on how people interact and what sort of individual and shared activities they will engage with. Will public space become increasingly controlled, politicised or irrelevant for political expression? It is clearly too early to come to a conclusion, but based on the past and based on observations of already emerging spatial practices in urban settings, we can speculate upon what kinds of futures might emerge.
A prognostic gene model of immune cell infiltration in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Authors: Zhou Hao , Zheng Chang , Huang De-Sheng
Published: August 2020

Background

Immune cells in the tumor microenvironment are an important prognostic indicator in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, information on the heterogeneity and risk stratification of these cells is limited. We sought to develop a novel immune model to evaluate the prognostic intra-tumoral immune landscape of patients with DLBCL.

Methods

The ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms were used to estimate the numbers of 22 infiltrating immune cells based on the gene expression profiles of 229 patients with DLBCL who were recruited from a public database. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) penalized regression analyses and nomogram model were used to construct and evaluate the prognostic immunoscore (PIS) model for overall survival prediction. An immune gene prognostic score (IGPS) was generated by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Cox regression analysis was and validated in an independent NCBI GEO dataset (GSE10846).

Results

A higher proportion of activated natural killer cells was associated with a poor outcome. A total of five immune cells were selected in the Lasso model and DLBCL patients with high PIS showed a poor prognosis (hazard ratio (HR) 2.16; 95% CI [1.33–3.50]; P = 0.002). Differences in immunoscores and their related outcomes were attributed to eight specific immune genes involved in the cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction and chemokine signaling pathways. The IGPS based on a weighted formula of eight genes is an independent prognostic factor (HR: 2.14, 95% CI [1.40–3.28]), with high specificity and sensitivity in the validation dataset.

Conclusions

Our findings showed that a PIS model based on immune cells is associated with the prognosis of DLBCL. We developed a novel immune-related gene-signature model associated with the PIS model and enhanced the prognostic functionality for the prediction of overall survival in patients with DLBCL.