bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Local Trichoderma strains as a control strategy of complex black root rot disease of strawberry in Egypt
Authors: Abd-El-Kareem Farid , Elshahawy Ibrahim E. , Abd-Elgawad Mahfouz M. M.
Published: November 2019

Background

Economics and human safety to avoid health risks caused by fungicides are materializing new era of biological pest control. Trichoderma species ranked high among other agents to control complex black root rot disease of strawberry caused by Fusarium solani, Rhizoctonia solani, and Pythium sp. Our study aimed to document the efficacy of local strains representing T. harzianum, T. viride, T. virinis, and T. koningii against such a disease.

Materials/methods

These strains were cultured separately on potato dextrose broth medium to test their inhibitory effect against strawberry black root rot in vitro and in vivo. Strawberry growth and yield were also assessed relative to the untreated check and the fungicide Actamyl. Activity of peroxidase and chitinase were measured in plant leaves using spectrophotometer.

Results

Each of the antagonistic fungal strains significantly reduced growth area of all pathogenic fungi collectively causing the disease. Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride, and T. koningii reduced the growth area more than 90.6% for all tested pathogenic fungi. Each species significantly reduced disease incidence and severity under field conditions. The highest reduction in the disease incidence and severity, 83.3 and 88.5% respectively, was attained by mixture of the four species. This mixture increased the strawberry fresh and dry weight by 83.3 and 176.9%, respectively, and the yield by 117.1%. All Trichoderma species tested significantly increased the activity of two plant defense-related enzymes of strawberry plants against the pathogens. Their mixture attained the highest increase of peroxidase and chitinase activity by 150 and 160.9%, respectively.

Conclusions

While the fungal mixture could considerably increase the strawberry fresh and dry weight as well as the yield, it suppressed the incidence and severity of the disease. So, integrated pest management in ways that make these biocontrol agents complementary or superior to chemical fungicides should further be examined against this disease.
The use of tranexamic acid to reduce blood loss in uncemented total hip arthroplasty for avascular necrosis of femoral head: a prospective blinded randomized controlled study
Authors: Pachore Javahir A. , Shah Vikram Indrajit , Upadhyay Sachin , Shah Kalpesh , Sheth Ashish , Kshatriya Amish
Published: November 2019

Background

The purpose of this prospective, double-blinded, randomized controlled study is to assess the efficacy of administration of intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) for reducing blood loss in uncemented total hip arthroplasty (THA) for the treatment of osteonecrosis of femoral head.

Methods

Between April 2012 and March 2014, 73 patients with avascular necrosis of femoral head were treated in our center. The patients were randomized and allocated to study group (n = 36; treated with TXA) and control group (n = 37). Intra- and postoperative blood loss, blood transfusion, and incidence of deep vein thrombosis were assessed. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The intraoperative, postoperative, and total (clinical method and Gross’ formula) blood loss were significantly greater in the control group (p < 0.05). On the first, second, and third postoperative days, the levels of hemoglobin and hematocrit were significantly better in the study group (p < 0.05). There was a significantly greater number of patients who required blood transfusion in the control group (p = .027). Deep vein thrombosis was not found in either group.

Conclusions

A single dose of TXA used preoperatively may minimize intraoperative, postoperative, and total blood loss in uncemented THA for the treatment of osteonecrosis of femoral head, and may not increase the risk of prothrombotic complications.
Diffusion-weighted MR imaging diagnostic merits in the post-therapeutic assessment of musculoskeletal soft tissue sarcoma
Authors: Moustafa Amr Farouk Ibrahim , El Said Shaimaa Shokry Mohammed Al Shahat , Moustafa Maged Abdelrahman , Hussein Marwa Mahmoud , Shokry Ahmed Mohamed
Published: November 2019

Background

The purpose of the study is assessing the diagnostic merits of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping in evaluating tumor response to chemo-radiotherapy. The study included 36 patients with soft tissue sarcoma, who received chemo/radiotherapy. Tumor longest dimension according to response evaluation criteria in solid tumors 1.1 (RECIST 1.1), the longest dimension of the contrast-enhanced portion of the tumor according to modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors: (mRECIST), the tumor volume (VOL) (cm3), and DWI with ADC values were recorded.

Results

ADC values in the non-progressive group were higher than those of the progressive group after neoadjuvant treatment (1.63 ± 0.42 vs. 1.24 ± 0.35) with (p < 0.005). ADC variations in the non-progressive group were higher than those of the progressive group (27.09 ± 48.09 vs. − 3.08 ± 23.5)% with (p < 0.05). ADC values after neoadjuvant treatment were negatively related to tumor volume variations (VOL%) after neoadjuvant treatment. ADC variations (ADC%) were inversely correlated with morphologic changes, regardless of the effectiveness of anticancer therapy expressed as changes in tumor size based on (RECIST, mRECIST, and three-dimensional volumetric assessment). An increase in the ADC value was not always associated with a reduction of tumor volume.

Conclusion

Quantitative DW imaging after neoadjuvant therapy provides added value in determining treatment response in soft tissue sarcomas. Therapeutic response to neoadjuvant therapy can be underestimated using RECIST 1.1; therefore, the mRECIST should also be considered.
Using Quality Improvement Methodology to Implement Survivorship Care Plans
Authors: Smith Christine Moore , Friedman Debra L. , Patterson Barron L.
Published: November 2019

PURPOSE:

Accreditation requirements for cancer centers by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer have included provision of survivorship care plans (SCPs) to patients treated with curative intent soon after completion of therapy. These were traditionally provided in a dedicated survivorship clinic for our pediatric oncology patients later in the survivorship time period. Our goal was to increase timely provision of SCPs to eligible patients in our acute care pediatric oncology clinic and to have this serve as a bridge to longer-term survivorship care.

METHODS:

Our pediatric oncology clinic used quality improvement methodology to implement a process for creation of SCPs. We defined eligible patients on the basis of curative intent. Cancer registry data were queried to find eligible patients, and chart reviews were done weekly. A P chart and run chart were used to monitor our process for creation of plans and overall completion rate, respectively.

RESULTS:

During the intervention period, we increased the percentage of eligible patients with an SCP from 28% on June 30, 2017, to 53% by December 31, 2017. Since that time, we have continued to increase the percentage of patients with SCPs, reaching 69% by June 30, 2019.

CONCLUSION:

By using quality improvement methodology, our pediatric oncology clinic was able to change its clinical practice and implement a sustainable process for provision of SCPs and survivorship planning earlier in the post-treatment course, and meet the Commission on Cancer accreditation standard.
What Is Japanese Cinema?
Authors: Amit Rea
Published: November 2019

Imamura Taihei (1911–86) is considered by many to be the first film theorist in Japan, and he is known chiefly for his two grand theories on documentary film and animation. Yet, at the same time, Imamura also developed a third, no less ambitious theory, that of “Cinema and Japanese Art,” in which he specified the national characteristics of Japanese cinema. This essay concentrates on this third and less studied thesis. Although the argument Imamura puts forth in the thesis is elusive, aspects in it enable an interpretation of Japanese cinema along lines of phenomenological critical theory. From this perspective, it appears that Imamura establishes a theorization of national cinema that is predicated not on film as a product, or ontological aspects of what films project, but rather on the phenomenology of the film-watching experience. In effect, the thesis thus defines Japanese cinema not as the total sum of films produced in Japan, or by Japanese filmmakers, but as a shared watching experience of films regardless of their country of origin. Measuring Imamura’s thesis against other theories of Japanese national cinema that were published around the same time, during World War II, the essay argues that his theorization is in fact flexible enough to withstand more recent critique leveled against the notion of national cinema, and even allows radical new ways of thinking about national cinema in the contemporary moment of a new media environment and increasing transnational cultural flows.
Minor Events and Grand Dreams
Authors: Tobin David
Published: November 2019

The official China Dream of the Great revival tells a story of China reversing “humiliation” by Western powers and returning to its premodern, rightful place at the center of world affairs. However, since ethnically targeted violence in Ürümqi in 2009, leading thinkers and policy makers ask how they can avoid a “nightmare” of frontier insecurity derailing dreams of international power. This article uses a postcolonial approach to critically analyze tensions between ethnic inclusion and exclusion in visual and textual narratives from a Xinjiang regional exhibition that celebrated the PRC’s sixtieth anniversary. It asks who is included and excluded in these visions of China’s rise? How does China domestically refract insecurity from experiences of a colonial world order that constructs it as inferior? The event tells a story of the history and future of a powerful rising state but expresses deep insecurities that domestic cultural difference is an obstacle to China’s global power.
The Long ’68
Authors: Kamola Isaac
Published: November 2019

The decade-long revolution known as May ’68 is commonly framed as a political protest radiating out from European and North American universities. However, much is gained by instead viewing May ’68 within the context of both anticolonial struggle and the emergence of what Wallerstein terms “the world university system.” Understanding student protests within the context of anticolonial struggle, including within African universities, reveals the extent to which the neoliberal university we inhabit today is the product of a profound counterrevolution designed to undermine the promise of the university as a site of radical and anticolonial transformation.
Anti-’68ers and the Racist-Libertarian Alliance
Authors: Slobodian Quinn
Published: November 2019

This article shows that the incorporation of right-wing libertarians into the Alt Right coalition was the end result of a schism in the neoliberal intellectual movement in response to the egalitarian challenge of the 1960s. In a symmetry with developments on the post-Marxist Left, one group of Austrian School economists associated with F. A. Hayek took a cultural turn. Performing their own critique of “economism,” they perceived human nature as rooted primarily in culture, adaptable over time through social learning and selective evolution. The other group of Austrian economists, linked to Murray Rothbard and culminating in the racist-libertarian alliance of the Alt Right, saw difference as rooted in biology and race as an immutable hierarchy of group traits and abilities. While many observers have described the Alt Right as a backlash against the excesses of neoliberalism, this shows that an important current of the Alt Right was born within and not against the neoliberal movement.
Comparing context-dependent call sequences employing machine learning methods: an indication of syntactic structure of greater horseshoe bats
Authors: Zhang Kangkang , Liu Tong , Liu Muxun , Li Aoqiang , Xiao Yanhong , Metzner Walter , Liu Ying
Published: November 2019

For analysis of vocal syntax, accurate classification of call sequence structures in different behavioural contexts is essential. However, an effective, intelligent program for classifying call sequences from numerous recorded sound files is still lacking. Here, we employed three machine learning algorithms (Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Decision Trees) to classify call sequences of social vocalizations of greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) in aggressive and distress contexts. The three machine learning algorithms obtained highly accurate classification rates (Logistic Regression 98%, SVM 97% and Decision Trees 96%). The algorithms also extracted three of the most important features for the classification, the transition between two adjacent syllables, the probability of occurrences of syllables in each position of a sequence, and characteristics of a sequence. The results of statistical analysis also supported the classification of the algorithms. The study provides the first efficient method for data mining of call sequences and the possibility of linguistic parameters in animal communication. It suggests the presence of song-like syntax in the social vocalizations emitted within a non-breeding context in a bat species.
CAD and AI for breast cancer—recent development and challenges
Authors: Chan Heang-Ping , Samala Ravi K. , Hadjiiski Lubomir M.
Published: November 2019

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has been a popular area of research and development in the past few decades. In CAD, machine learning methods and multidisciplinary knowledge and techniques are used to analyze the patient information and the results can be used to assist clinicians in their decision making process. CAD may analyze imaging information alone or in combination with other clinical data. It may provide the analyzed information directly to the clinician or correlate the analyzed results with the likelihood of certain diseases based on statistical modeling of the past cases in the population. CAD systems can be developed to provide decision support for many applications in the patient care processes, such as lesion detection, characterization, cancer staging, treatment planning and response assessment, recurrence and prognosis prediction. The new state-of-the-art machine learning technique, known as deep learning (DL), has revolutionized speech and text recognition as well as computer vision. The potential of major breakthrough by DL in medical image analysis and other CAD applications for patient care has brought about unprecedented excitement of applying CAD, or artificial intelligence (AI), to medicine in general and to radiology in particular. In this paper, we will provide an overview of the recent developments of CAD using DL in breast imaging and discuss some challenges and practical issues that may impact the advancement of artificial intelligence and its integration into clinical workflow.
Cutaneous manifestations of dermatomyositis characterized by myositis-specific autoantibodies
Authors: Okiyama Naoko , Fujimoto Manabu
Published: November 2019

Dermatomyositis (DM) is an inflammatory myopathy with characteristic skin manifestations, the pathologies of which are considered autoimmune diseases. DM is a heterogeneous disorder with various phenotypes, including myositis, dermatitis, and interstitial lung disease (ILD). Recently identified myositis-specific autoantibodies have been associated with distinct clinical features. For example, anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 antibodies have a high specificity for clinically amyopathic DM presenting rapidly progressive ILD. Furthermore, anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1γ antibodies found in patients with juvenile and adult DM are closely correlated with malignancies, especially in elderly patients. Finally, patients with anti-aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetase antibodies share characteristic clinical symptoms, including myositis, ILD, arthritis/arthralgia, Raynaud’s phenomenon, and fever; thus, the term “anti-synthetase syndrome” is also used. With a focus on the characteristic cutaneous manifestations in each subgroup classified according to myositis-specific autoantibodies, we introduce the findings of previous reports, including our recent analysis indicating that skin eruptions can be histopathologically classified into myositis-specific autoantibody-associated subgroups and used to determine the systemic pathologies of the different types of antibody-associated DM.
TRANSPORT INTERCHANGE HUBS AND PROBLEMS OF HUMAN FLOWS TRAFFIC ORGANIZATION
Authors: Дмитриев Александр , Dmitriev Aleksandr , Евстигнеев Виктор , Evstigneev Viktor
Published: November 2019

A review of the functional and space-planning characteristics of transport interchange hubs (TIH) is substantiated by the relevance of the presented topic; the subject and the object of research are identified. As a basis of the research a systematic analysis is taken, which is differentiated into four main levels: communicational, systematical, local and individual. The regularities of human flows movement are researched at every level. The main parameters and their dependencies provide the basis for the development of integrated methods of calculation, modelling and regulation of pedestrian traffic pathways, which could be applied to the practice of architectural design of TIH.
ART AS THE MORPHOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURAL EXPOSITION
Authors: Горожанкин В. , Gorozhankin V.
Published: November 2019

ART AS THE MORPHOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURAL EXPOSITION

Art objects and art landscapes are works of popular art created from industrial materials and by means of industrial technologies. Art morphology shifts the audience's attention from the substantial values of the previously bodily and visible matter of an object to its figurative and symbolic "broadcasting". Focused on the means of communication, art objects are multi-layered and bring us back to the forms of "pure art", which now require the plot-thematic modeling of their exposition. Art-shaping is connected with making symbols out of objects in the spatial environment and with the process of semiosis (the expansion of their meanings through a combination of symbolic forms). A method of creating art morphology involves organizing mise-en-scenes and consists in finding (or creating) symbols (art objects) and their placement in the view area of art facilities.
RESEARCH OF THE EFFECT OF PLASMA TREATMENT ON THE OPERATIONAL PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITE GLASS-CERAMIC MATERIALS
Authors: Изотова И.А. , Izotova Iraida , Бондаренко Н.И. , Bondarenko Nadezhda , Борисов Иван , Borisov Ivan , Клименко Василий , Klimenko Vasiliy , Слабинская И.А. , Slabinskaya Irina
Published: November 2019

The article presents the research findings of the influence of plasma-chemical modification on aesthetic and performance properties of a composite glass-ceramic material. The optimum compositions of composite glass-crystalline materials based on broken colored glass containers, broken porcelain and liquid glass have been developed. It has been shown that the composite glass-crystalline material possessed the increased mechanical properties and relatively low esthetic properties. It has been determined that in the process of plasma treatment the front surface undergoes fire polishing with the formation of a high-quality coating. When exposed to a high-temperature jet, the surface of the glass-crystalline material is heated up to 2000 °C, resulting in the enrichment of the front surface with silicon and aluminum oxides and depletion of alkali and alkaline-earth oxides. It has been experimentally confirmed that after the plasma-chemical modification the diffuse reflectance coefficient, water resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance and heat resistance of the face surface of the composite glass-crystalline material are increased.
General Error Estimates for the Longstaff–Schwartz Least-Squares Monte Carlo Algorithm
Authors: Zanger Daniel Z.
Published: November 2019

We establish error estimates for the Longstaff–Schwartz algorithm, employing just a single set of independent Monte Carlo sample paths that is reused for all exercise time steps. We obtain, within the context of financial derivative payoff functions bounded according to the uniform norm, new bounds on the stochastic part of the error of this algorithm for an approximation architecture that may be any arbitrary set of L2 functions of finite Vapnik–Chervonenkis (VC) dimension whenever the algorithm’s least-squares regression optimization step is solved either exactly or approximately. Moreover, we show how to extend these estimates to the case of payoff functions bounded only in Lp, p a real number greater than [Formula: see text]. We also establish new overall error bounds for the Longstaff–Schwartz algorithm, including estimates on the approximation error also for unconstrained linear, finite-dimensional polynomial approximation. Our results here extend those in the literature by not imposing any uniform boundedness condition on the approximation architectures, allowing each of them to be any set of L2 functions of finite VC dimension and by establishing error estimates as well in the case of ɛ-additive approximate least-squares optimization, ɛ greater than or equal to 0.
Infestation and Reproduction of Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman and Hygienic Behavior in Colonies of Apis mellifera L. (Africanized Honeybee) with Queens of Different Genetic Origins
Authors: Schafaschek Tânia Patrícia , Rodrigues Hickel Eduardo , Lopes de Oliveira Carlos Antonio , De Alencar Arnaut de Toledo Vagner
Published: November 2019

The hygienic behavior and variables related to the varroa mite in Apis mellifera colonies, with queens of different origins, were evaluated from October 2013 to June 2014. Queens from the selection program of the Maringá State University (Maringá / PR), from a beekeeper/ producer of Santa Terezinha/ SC and unselected queens, randomly selected in an experimental apiary (Irineópolis / SC) were evaluated. Colonies with queens of Maringá presented an increase in the invasion rate and total reproduction of varroa as there was reduction of hygienic behavior. This group presented a reduction in the effective reproduction of the mite, with a mean of 2.3 fertile offspring. Colonies with queens of Santa Terezinha presented an increase in the invasion rate due to the reduction of hygienic behavior, but in a less marked manner, since this characteristic remained stable, with an average of 92.0%. The total and effective reproduction of the mite for this group was 1.7 and 0.9 of total and fertile offspring, respectively. Colonies with queens of Irineópolis showed the lowest hygienic behavior (78.0%) and the highest total (12.6) and effective (5.3) reproduction of the mite. The use of selected queens, with hygienic behavior, interferes with the varroa population dynamics, contributing to the reduction of the invasion and total and effective reproduction rates of the mite.
Aphaenogaster ichnusa Santschi, 1925, bona species, and Redescription of Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
Authors: Galkowski Christophe , Aubert Clément , Blatrix Rumsais
Published: November 2019

Morphological and molecular investigation conducted in France and the Tyrrhenian islands reveal that Aphaenogaster subterranea is composed of two distinct species. We propose to raise A. subterranea var. ichnusa Santschi, 1925, described from Sardinia, to the species status, A. ichnusa Santschi, 1925 stat. nov. This species differs from A. subterranea by having shorter propodeal spines and a less sculptured cuticle. Phylogenetic reconstruction using the mitochondrial marker COI shows that the two species form well separated clades, with a genetic distance (K2p) of 9.8 %. In the studied area, the two species are parapatric, A. ichnusa occurring in Sardinia, Corsica and the Mediterranean area of continental France, and A. subterranea occurring North of this area. We propose a redescription of both species and designation of a neotype for A. subterranea.
A Worker-Like Female of Myrmica sabuleti (Meinert, 1861) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in a Pitfall Trap with Five Mermithids (Nematoda: Mermithidae) Protruding from the Gaster
Authors: Steiner Florian M. , Köhler Günter , Seifert Bernhard , Arthofer Wolfgang , Schlick-Steiner Birgit , Buschinger Alfred
Published: November 2019

A worker-like female of Myrmica sabuleti (Meinert, 1861), pitfall-trapped near Jena, Germany, in late summer 2016, was infested by five postparasitic juvenile mermithids. They poked out of the ant´s gaster as a trail of seven filaments of various lengths. Apart from its swollen gaster, the ant differed from conspecifics in several morphometric parameters. Using both morphological and molecular techniques, the parasite family Mermithidae was confirmed. Our stray find raises multiple questions concerning the genus and species identity of the parasite, its biology, and the infestation rate of the host ant population. More mermithid awareness by the various researchers working with Myrmica will help, but directed fieldwork, experimental life-history research, and molecular studies are needed to emancipate progress in ant-mermithid research from serendipity.
Drone Production by the Giant Honey Bee Apis dorsata F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
Authors: Chuttong Bajaree , Buawangpong Ninat , Burgett Michael
Published: November 2019

This study investigates male (drone) production by the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata F.). The entire brood populations from 10 colonies were counted to determine the immature population of drones relative to workers. As the condition of each cell was determined the cell’s position and content were noted using the Microsoft Excel platform. The contents of the brood comb, including eggs, larvae, prepupae, capped worker pupae, capped drone pupae, pollen storage cells and finally empty brood cells were recorded. Results reveal the percent of pupal drones averaged 5.9 ± 6.2% of the total pupal cohort with a range of 0.1 to 17.3%. The size of the drone pupal population relative to the worker pupae was highly variable and displayed no correlation (r2 = 0.076).  Pupal drone distribution was scattered throughout the brood comb in a random manner when drone populations were low; in instances of higher drone production, the drones appeared in banded patterns concomitant with the worker pupal distribution.
The Effect of Forest Fragmentation on Polistinae
Authors: Bueno Ederson Tadeu , Souza Marcos Magalhães de , Clemente Mateus Aparecido
Published: November 2019

The forest fragmentation is caused by natural or anthropic actions, which affect negatively the biota and the environmental services rendered by biological diversity. However, there is little information on the reflex of these actions in many different groups of animals, such as social wasps, which are abundant and significantly present in neotropical environments, causing a major impact in the communities they live due to their role in food webs. As their natural enemies, wasps are important in the control of agricultural plagues; in the natural environment, they are nectar collectors, frequent flower visitors, and potential pollinators of many species of plants. These factors justify studies which would evaluate in what way the forest fragmentation acts on these insects biodiversity. This study was carried out in four fragments, each of a different size, located in the municipalities of Inconfidentes and Ouro Fino, in the south of the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil), where the phytophysiognomy is the Montane Semideciduous Seasonal Forest. The research was carried out between December 2016 and March 2018, with the same sampling collection for each fragment, totalizing 104 sampling days. In total, 28 species and 51 colonies were recorded in the four areas and a greater richness for the greatest fragment (F4). The conclusion reached was that the size and heterogeneity of the fragment have an important role in maintaining the richness of social wasps.
Facets of Faith: Spirituality, Religiosity, and Parents of Individuals With Intellectual Disability
Authors: Boehm Thomas L. , Carter Erik W.
Published: November 2019

Although faith has particular prominence in the contemporary American landscape, its intersection with disability and families has received little attention. We examined the spiritual and religious lives of 530 parents and caregivers of family members who have intellectual disability. For most participants, faith had clear relevance and was reflected in their congregational participation, beliefs, practices, and strength of faith. Yet considerable diversity was apparent in the ways in which each was evidenced, which included a modest number of families for whom this was not a salient aspect of their lives. Most participants identified ways in which their spirituality and religious participation contributed to their well-being. However, access to social supports through a local congregation was more muted. We address implications for professionals who support these families and congregations who welcome them. We also offer recommendations for expanding the opportunities and supports parents and caregivers need to flourish in their faith.
Space in common: Socially engaged art in the Athens of crisis
Authors: Kanellopoulou Charis
Published: November 2019

During the last years – within a constantly deepening social, political and economic crisis – Athens’s public space appears challenging, presenting a character of ongoing re-evaluation and change. It is due to the impact of the crisis, for example, that the city’s public space is being approached once more by many citizens who, during the years before the recession, had chosen to transfer main activities and functions of public life to the more protected sphere of privateness. One notices the return to open spaces by locals not only for leisure but also for social interaction. Most emphatically, however, appears the fact of a rising number of population in need, such as homeless people, immigrants or refugees, who host aspects of their private life in the public sphere: most of the times, they are not only users, but rather habitants of public space, in a transitional situation of social suspension, lacking a sense of belonging. Under the light of the city’s different realities, and of an expected social co-existence, the article aims to present the practice of artists who become active in Athens’s public spaces of social ambivalence in Athens, by realizing socially engaged art projects. By focusing on case studies such as Nomadic Architecture Network’s projects, the Victoria Square Project by Rick Lowe and Maria Papadimitriou, Common Platforms, a Blind Date by Adonis Volanakis, along with Rafika Chawishe, or the UrbanDig_Omonia by the UrbanDig Project in Omonia square, among others, the article highlights the artists’ interest in understanding the historical and cultural dynamics of each area and in working with different participants of the community in an effort to find common ground and to create bonds among individuals of unalike backgrounds. The article shows how such artistic practices become a channel of creative expression and fruitful dialogue in environments of precariousness and intolerance. Showing the importance of cooperation and understanding, socially engaged art projects function positively as collaborative ‘heterotopias’ in turbulent times for Athens.
Crossbreeding and consanguinity management in pig farms in the departments of Ouémé and Plateau in Benin
Authors: Dotché Ignace Ogoudanan , Idohou Simon , Dahouda Mahamadou , Kiki Pascal , Govoeyi Benoit , Antoine-Moussiaux Nicolas , Dehoux Jean-Paul , Mensah Guy Apollinaire , Farougou Souaïbou , Thilmant Pierre , Youssao Abdou Karim Issaka , Koutinhouin Benoît
Published: November 2019

Background: The improvement in pig zootechnical performances is a common practice in Benin. This improvement of the performances is made by the choice of the best reproducers in farms and the crossbreeding between the different breeds.

Aim: This study aims to characterize practices related to consanguinity management in pigs reared in Ouémé and Plateau.

Materials and Methods: Crossbreeding and consanguinity data were collected from 60 farms in these two departments. Frequencies and averages were calculated and compared between departments, genetic types, and origin of progenitors.

Results: The majority of the investigated pig farmers in both departments were married men of primary or secondary education level. Most of them cross animals without a specific crossbreeding scheme. These crossings were performed to a greater extent (p<0.05) in Ouémé (94.28%) than in Plateau (52%). In general, farmers cross improved animals of high breeding values with the crossbred ones. These crossings were mainly performed to improve zootechnical performances. Renewing animals were commonly chosen from the farm or were provided from nearby farms. The majority of pig breeders in Ouémé (100%) and Plateau (86.67%) obtained reproductive animals from nearby farms. Males and females were sometimes bought from the same farm or from farms that pig breeders have sold reproductive animals in the previous years. In the case of selection within their own farm, male and female progenitors are separated at puberty by the majority of the breeders of Plateau (42.11%) and Ouémé (50%). Inbred mating was reported by breeders. More than half of breeders mate animals having a parental link in both departments. The mating was performed between animals of the same mother in 37.93% of farms in Ouémé and in 45.46% in Plateau. The main consanguinity consequences mentioned by the breeders were the high mortality at birth and weaning, piglets' weakness at the birth, the slow growth, and the decrease in litter size. Sows with at least one parent from external farm had a litter size at birth and weaning and a live-born piglets' number significantly higher than sows with both parents from the same farm.

Conclusion: Rigorous monitoring of crossing and the filial links are necessary for pig farms for ensuring the improvement of zootechnical performances.
Predicting factual sawlog volumes in Scots pine dominated forests using airborne laser scanning data
Authors: Karjalainen Tomi , Packalen Petteri , Räty Janne , Maltamo Matti
Published: November 2019

The aim in the study was to compare alternatives for the prediction of factual sawlog volumes using airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in Scots pine ( L.) dominated forests in eastern Finland. Accurate estimates of factual sawlog volume are desirable to ease the planning of harvesting operations. The factual sawlog volume of pines was derived from visual bucking, i.e. a procedure where the defects were located on each stem during sample plot measurements. For other species, the theoretical sawlog volume was considered also as the factual sawlog volume due to data restrictions. We predicted factual sawlog volume with eight alternatives that were based on either linear mixed-effects models or k-nearest neighbour imputations. An existing sawlog reduction model, commonly used in Finland, was also tested individually and combined with a number of the alternatives, and site type information was also utilised. Model fitting and prediction was implemented at the 15 Ã 15 m level, but accuracy was assessed at the 30 Ã 30 m level. The relative root mean squared error (RMSE%) values for the factual sawlog volume predictions varied between 20.9% and 33.5%, and the best accuracy was obtained with a linear mixed-effects model. These results indicate that factual sawlog volumes in Scots pine dominated forests can be predicted with reasonable accuracy with ALS data.Pinus sylvestris
The Oneida Community and the utility of liberal capitalism
Authors: Coffee Kevin
Published: November 2019

Historians studying the utopian Oneida Community have often located its demise in rising internal dissent and failing consensus among its members, with special emphasis on the personal jealousies and generational tensions that its practice of group marriage may have produced. Those studies step past the essential place of work and industry in communal life and especially the community’s theology, which equated economic prosperity with Christian virtue. This essay reframes our understanding of the political economy of the Oneida Community, with specific attention to their last decade, and the social tensions stoked by their reliance upon market capitalism and waged labour. While acknowledging the internal dissent that accompanied the structural demise of the commune, the present study asks how such discord arose from business-centred theology within the social environment of competition and a prolonged economic depression. The Community’s dependence upon the surrounding capitalist economy challenged their self-described ‘Bible communism’ and precipitated its demise.
A case of atypical femur fracture during long-term treatment with bisphosphonates in patient with postmenopausal osteoporosis
Authors: Zotkina Kira E. , Lesnyak Olga M. , Kochish Aleksandr Yu. , Sushkov Ivan V.
Published: November 2019

Bisphosphonates is a first-line therapy for treatment of osteoporosis. In the last decade, the number of atypical femur fracture (AFF) cases during long-term treatment with bisphosphonates has increased. The aim of this article was to analyze the literature data on this problem, to define the diagnostic criteria of AFF and to present the case of AFF in the patient who received treatment with alendronate for 3.5 years.
A 78-year-old woman, receiving oral bisphosphonate for severe postmenopausal osteoporosis for 3.5 years, suddenly started feeling pain in her right thigh while walking. Three months later, she had got a fracture in middle third of the right femur after falling from her standing height. According to instrumental diagnostics, this fracture had all criteria of AFF. Blocking intramedullary osteosynthesis with shafts was performed. A retrospective analysis of soft tissue magnetic resonance imaging in the area of right thigh, done before the fracture, showed the presence of undiagnosed incomplete right femur fracture in the middle third, which subsequently led to a complete fracture.
Presented clinical case demonstrates the complexity of AFF diagnostics. The purpose of the publication is to draw attention of medical specialists to the issue of this rare side effect of bisphosphonate treatment.
El planeta Tierra y la humanidad
Authors: Verstappen Herman
Published: November 2019

La Tierra, una futilidad en el espacio, es el único hogar para todos los seres humanos, y en la actualidad, el escenario de la globalización de la sociedad. La humanidad siempre se ha preguntado acerca del origen de nuestro planeta azul; sin embargo, esto es bastante irrelevante para la vida cotidiana. Lo que realmente importa es que todos podamos vivir en armonía y diversidad en la “madre Tierra” y preservar el medio ambiente para las generaciones futuras. Nuestro planeta está habitado por una increíble variedad de criaturas vivientes, entre las cuales se cuentan 7 mil millones de seres humanos en la actualidad. Este número ha aumentado a un ritmo alarmante durante más de un siglo y llegará a los 10 000 millones en 2100. Pero no existe la certeza de que los recursos de la Tierra puedan hacer frente a las crecientes demandas. ¿Cuál será nuestro futuro común? Este problema global ha sido el foco de los reportes del llamado Club de Roma (Meadows, Randers y Behrens, 1972), el Informe Brundtland (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987), entre otros, pero las respuestas de la sociedad son todavía insuficientes. Actualmente, la ciencia y la tecnología pueden desentrañar las múltiples y sutiles interrelaciones entre geosfera, atmósfera y biosfera, y supervisar el creciente impacto global de las actividades humanas en el medio ambiente (Stel, 2013). La observación de la Tierra desde el aire y el espacio y los sistemas de información geográfica han abierto nuevas perspectivas en este campo. Es evidente que existen límites al crecimiento y que la actual “violación de la Tierra” debe detenerse y desarrollar un plan maestro para la sostenibilidad global. Este plan no debe ser impuesto de arriba abajo, sino estar enraizado en nuestra libre voluntad y, por consiguiente, tener una estructura policéntrica. La agenda política para la globalización no debe sustentarse exclusivamente en el crecimiento económico, sino orientarse en tres ejes: sustentabilidad-balance social-requisitos económicos. ¿Podemos hacer que esto suceda?
Los globos van a la guerra: Cultura visual y circulación de instrumentos en la guerra de la Triple Alianza contra Paraguay
Authors: Reyes Novaes André
Published: November 2019

La guerra de la Triple Alianza contra Paraguay (1864-1870) fue el enfrentamiento armado más grande ocurrido entre Estados suramericanos en el siglo XIX y ocupa un lugar destacado en la historiografía militar brasileña. Durante la guerra, instrumentos y técnicas hasta entonces inéditos en el continente fueron introducidos para hacer posible el conocimiento del terreno y el desplazamiento de los ejércitos. El 26 de junio de 1867 el ejército brasileño utilizó por primera vez un globo aerostático en el combate. El uso militar de globos aerostáticos es el punto de partida del presente artículo, que procura explorar la manera en que abordajes enfocados en la circulación de artefactos pueden estimular diálogos renovados entre historia de la ciencia, historia de la geografía e historia de la cartografía. En la primera sección el abordaje metodológico propuesto es detallado mediante una discusión historiográfica acerca de la guerra. En la segunda se explora el uso militar de globos aerostáticos en la guerra de la Triple Alianza contra Paraguay. En la tercera el foco se dirige hacia la circulación de nuevas visualidades de la guerra propiciadas por el uso de globos, tanto en la prensa brasileña como en la paraguaya. Al enfocar la investigación en la circulación y la materialidad de los artefactos, este trabajo hace evidente la manera en que el uso de los globos aerostáticos contribuyó a la emergencia de nuevas culturas visuales de la guerra, en las cuales las prácticas de observación, mensuración y representación territorial obtienen un lugar destacado.
Los ránquines de ciudades mundiales: ¿dónde se posiciona Ciudad de México?
Authors: Córdoba Ordóñez Juan , Gago García Cándida
Published: November 2019

Desde que se difundió el concepto ciudad global, cada día se proponen nuevos listados que jerarquizan las ciudades del mundo atendiendo a indicadores diversos o a índices sintéticos que aglutinan grupos de variables. Estos ránquines se están convirtiendo en un instrumento de la planificación neoliberal del que se sirven instituciones y empresas para situar las ciudades en el tablero de juego de la competencia mundial. Este trabajo analiza el lugar que ocupa Ciudad de México en algunos de los principales ránquines de este tipo y se completa con una aproximación a su conectividad aérea internacional como indicador de su papel en el escenario global; revela también el alcance de su área de influencia y sus relaciones de interdependencia en el marco macrorregional. Los resultados informan acerca de la interdependencia de Ciudad de México con sus vecinos norte y centroamericanos, y de un posicionamiento destacado de ésta en el principal ranquin académico analizado. El estudio muestra también su posicionamiento ambiguo en los principales ránquines de ciudades mundiales elaborados por las consultoras privadas. En este posicionamiento se puede apreciar, no obstante, que la ciudad ofrece capacidades creativas y socializantes de interés, cualidades que podrían utilizar los responsables de la planificación urbana para potenciar su singularidad en un escenario de competencia global. El trabajo, desde un punto de vista conceptual y metodológico, se ha concebido como una aportación al análisis contemporáneo del mundo urbano desde una perspectiva relacional, esto es, desde la perspectiva regional renovada que se propugna en geografía desde finales del siglo XX.
Efecto de la Violencia en la Productividad Laboral en México: Análisis de un Modelo de Regresión Espacial de Datos Panel
Authors: Saucedo De La Fuente David , Berry Brian J.L.
Published: November 2019

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar los determinantes de la productividad laboral en México a nivel estatal durante el período 2003-2016 usando datos anuales. La técnica GMM es utilizada para estimar un modelo de regresión espacial de datos panel. La especificación del modelo incluye una matriz espacial (W), el rezago espacial de la variable dependiente (ρ), el rezago espacial de los residuales (λ), y el uso de variables instrumento para reducir la endogenidad de la variable violencia. Los resultados indican que la crímenes asociados con el tráfico de drogas producen un efecto negativo en la productividad laboral. Así también, la violencia en estados contiguos produce efectos spillover en la producción por trabajador en un estado en específico. La inversion pública tiene un efecto positivo y significativo en la productividad laboral mientras que la crisis financiera durante el período 2008-2009 produce un efecto negativo.
Circuito da Ciência
Authors: Lopes Karoline Duarte , Silva Cirlande Cabral da
Published: November 2019

O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar as experiências educativas de alunos do ensino fundamental (sexto ao nono ano) no Circuito da Ciência para a promoção de alfabetização científica. Dois instrumentos foram utilizados para a coleta dos dados: observação com registro no diário de campo e entrevistas. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em 2018, primeiramente com o acompanhamento da visita de escolas públicas da cidade de Manaus ao Bosque da Ciência (Espaço de educação não formal), local idealizado para abrigar o Circuito da Ciência, totalizando quatro escolas. Posteriormente, foram feitas visitas a essas escolas a fim de conseguirmos a autorização dos responsáveis legais para realizarmos as entrevistas com uma amostra de vinte alunos que visitaram o Projeto Circuito da Ciência. Os dados obtidos foram analisados de acordo com a Análise Textual Discursiva de Moraes e Galiazzi (2011). Diante da análise realizada, percebemos que o Bosque da Ciência, por ser um local com um caráter institucional, favorece a aproximação da população com a ciência. É um espaço não formal que fornece recursos didáticos valiosos para o aprendizado, contribuindo de forma significativa para o ensino de ciências visando à alfabetização científica de seus visitantes.
Analyzing the Accuracy of Answer Sheet Data in Paper-based Test Using Decision Tree
Authors: Suharto Edy , Widodo Aris Puji , Suryono Suryono
Published: November 2019

In education quality assurance, the accuracy of test data is crucial. However, there is still a problem regarding to the possibility of incorrect data filled by test taker during paper-based test. On the contrary, this problem does not appear in computer-based test. In this study, a method was proposed in order to analyze the accuracy of answer sheet filling out in paper-based test using data mining technique. A single layer of data comprehension was added within the method instead of raw data. The results of the study were a web-based program for data pre-processing and decision tree models. There were 374 instances which were analyzed. The accuracy of answer sheet filling out attained 95.19% while the accuracy of classification varied from 99.47% to 100% depend on evaluation method chosen. This study could motivate the administrators for test improvement since it preferred computer-based test to paper-based.