bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Bag Style on Muscle Activity of the Trapezius, Erector Spinae and Latissimus Dorsi During Walking in Female University Students
Authors: Hardie Rebecca , Haskew Rachel , Harris Joel , Hughes Gerwyn
Published: May 2015

Back pain is common in adolescents which has been associated with carrying a bag. However, there is little research examining the effects of bag style in female adolescents. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of different bag conditions on muscle activity of the trapezius, erector spinae and latissimus dorsi muscles in female university students during walking. Twelve female university students walked on a treadmill for 5 minutes at 1.1 m/s during five conditions; control, 1 strapped rucksack, 2 strapped rucksack, ipsilateral shoulder strap and contralateral shoulder strap, each containing 10% bodyweight. Electromyography for the trapezius, erector spinae and latissimus dorsi was recorded for the last 30 s of each condition. Two-way ANOVA and paired t-tests were used to identify differences between right and left muscles and between bag conditions. Results showed that muscle activity of the left trapezius was significantly higher than the right trapezius during the 1 strap rucksack condition. For the left trapezius, the 2 strapped rucksack and the control condition had significantly lower muscle activity compared to the 1 strapped rucksack and the ipsilateral shoulder strap. For the left erector spinae muscle, there was significantly greater muscle activity when wearing the contralateral shoulder strap compared to the control. For the right erector spinae, significantly lower muscle activity was observed when wearing the 2 strapped rucksack compared to the ipsilateral shoulder strap and contralateral shoulder strap. There were no significant differences in muscle activity of the latissimus dorsi muscles between any of the bag conditions. These findings suggest that a two strapped rucksack should be used when carrying loads to reduce spinal muscle activity which may, in turn, reduce reports of back pain in female adolescents.
Association Between Sports Participation and Sedentary Behavior During School Recess Among Brazilian Adolescents
Authors: Santos Silva Diego Augusto , Santos Silva Roberto Jerônimo dos
Published: May 2015

The aim of this study was to examine the association between sports participation and sedentary behavior during school recess among Brazilian adolescents. This study included 2,243 adolescents aged 13-18 years (16.2 ± 1.1), 62.2% females and 37.8% males, enrolled in public high schools in Aracaju, Northeastern Brazil. Sedentary behavior during school recess and sport participation was self-reported. Several factors were examined, including sex, age, skin color, socioeconomic status, maternal education and physical activity level. Sixty percent of adolescents had sedentary behavior during school recess and 57.7% of adolescents reported that they did not participate in any team sport. Additionally, adolescents who did not practice any team sport were 40% more likely (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.8) to be sedentary during school recess compared to those who participated in two or more team sports. It is recommended that schools encourage students to engage in sports activities and promote more physical activity during school recess to reduce the sedentary behavior and increase physical activity levels in youth.
Effect of resistance tube exercises on kicking accuracy, vertical jump and 40-yard technical test in competitive football players – an experimental study
Authors: Tirumala Alekhya , Motimath Basavaraj
Published: May 2015

Purpose

Kicking, jumping and agility are important skills in football. These activities require adequate lower limb strength, which can be enhanced with resistance training. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of resistance tube exercises on kicking accuracy, vertical jump performance and 40-yard technical test results in competitive football players.

Methods

The study involved 23 competitive football players (11 males, 12 females) aged from 18-20 years recruited from three different universities in Belgaum, Karnataka, India. Back heel kick accuracy, vertical jump height and 40-yard technical test time were evaluated before and after a 2-week resistance tube exercise program.

Results

Significant improvements in post-intervention kicking accuracy were found when males and females were treated as a single group (p = 0.01). Vertical jump height also showed a highly significant post-intervention improvement in the males and for the combined group of males and females (p = 0.001). The 40-yard technical test values significantly improved in the females and in the combined results for males and females (p = 0.001).

Conclusions

The two-week resistance tube exercise program was found to have an effect on kicking accuracy, vertical jump height and 40-yard technical test performance in competitive football players. Resistance tube exercises can thus be included as a component of a regular strength training program for such athletes.
An assessment of exercise tolerance in normobaric hypoxia of patients with diabetes mellitus type 1
Authors: Głuchowska Barbara , Żebrowska Aleksandra , Kamiński Tomasz
Published: May 2015

Purpose

Physical activity is an integral part of the treatment of diabetes. The aim of the study was to assess aerobic capacity and cardiovascular-respiratory reactions to a single physical exercise with gradually increasing intensity in normobaric hypoxia in patients with Type 1 diabetes.

Methods

The study was conducted on a sample of adults with Type 1 diabetes (GT1D, n = 13) and a randomly chosen healthy control (GK, n = 15). The study participants performed a progressive exercise test to exhaustion in normoxia (FiO2 ~ 20.90%) and 7 days later in normobaric hypoxia (FiO2 ~ 15.14%). At rest, during exercise, and after completion of the test blood was drawn and physiological indicators were monitored.

Results

Two-way ANOVA revealed a significant effect of hypoxia and physical exercise on blood glucose concentrations (F = 6.1 p < 0.01). In GT1D , lower glucose levels were observed in normobaric hypoxia compared with baseline and post-exercise levels in normoxia (p < 0.05). A tendency to increased maximal oxygen uptake and significantly higher minute pulmonary ventilation was observed in both groups in response to exercise and hypoxia.

Conclusions

Physical activity and hypoxia may effectively control glucose homeostasis and increase cardiorespiratory adaptation to exercise in Type 1 diabetics.
Body posture in young women involved in regular aerobic exercise
Authors: Drzał-Grabiec Justyna , Truszczyńska Aleksandra
Published: May 2015

Purpose

The aim of the study was an assessment of posture in women who regularly perform aerobic exercise.

Methods

The study group consisted of 50 women actively participating in aerobics classes (mean: age 28.64 ± 5.3 years, body mass 59.83 ± 6.7 kg, height 167.75 ± 4.9 cm, BMI 21.24 ± 3.6 m/kg2) and a control group of 50 women not involved in any regular physical activity (mean: age 28.55 ± 5.05 years, body mass 62.47 ± 10.5 kg, height 167.74 ± 4.8 cm, BMI 22.26 ± 4.8 m/kg2). All participants were subjected to a photogrammetric assessment of posture.

Results

Statistically significant differences in posture were identified between the two groups for lumbarosacral and thoracolumbar spinal curvatures.

Conclusions

Women who regularly perform aerobic exercise present greater thoracic kyphosis and shoulder asymmetry than women not involved in aerobics.
Education and the prevention of postural defects
Authors: Olchowska-Kotala Agnieszka , Chromik Krystyna
Published: May 2015

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine: whether and at what stage of education is proper body posture learned, the intention of young adults to participate in activities teaching proper posture, and the effects of factors related with the said intention.

Methods

The study involved 430 university students aged 18-24 years. Anthropometric data was collected. Participants completed questionnaires assessing physical activity level (IPAQ) and their intention to participate in extracurricular activities teaching proper posture while sitting or walking, proper running technique, corrective gymnastics, or weight loss exercises. A self-assessment of posture, physical fitness, attractiveness, and body satisfaction was also completed.

Results

Lower back pain was experienced by 41% of the respondents. Most were taught proper posture-related habits in primary school, followed by secondary school, and then at university. Many students expressed their intention to participate in the extracurricular activities. None of the questionnaire variables were associated with the intention to learn proper walking posture or proper running technique. The intention to participate in classes teaching proper sitting posture was associated with lower back pain in women and low physical activity level in men. In women, a relationship was found between the intention to participate in weight loss exercises and body dissatisfaction, high BMI, and poor self-evaluations of posture and attractiveness. In men, this activity was associated with body dissatisfaction.

Conclusions

There is a need for further education on the development of proper postural habits at the university level.
The effects of rule changes on basketball game results in the Men’s European Basketball Championships
Authors: Pluta Beata , Andrzejewski Marcin , Lira Jarosław
Published: May 2015

Purpose

The aim the study was to analyze the effects of rule changes in men’s professional basketball. Univariate analysis examined game statistics, concentrating only on points scores from selected basketball games and did not include situational variables that may have affected game dynamics.

Methods

Data on the results of all games played in the men’s European Basketball Championships between 1935 and 2013 were collected and subjected to statistical analysis. Six main rule modifications which directly affected game play were identified in chronological order.

Results

The number of points scored and allowed changed significantly after 1956. The greatest changes in game scores as a result of rule modifications were after rule changes in 1956 and after 1984.

Conclusions

Rule changes involve processes that modify game conditions and should be validated following reflective analysis.
The effects of various running inclines on three-segment foot mechanics and plantar fascia strain
Authors: Sinclair Jonathan , Atkins Stephen , Vincent Hayley
Published: May 2015

Purpose

There has yet to be a combined analysis of three-dimensional multi-segment foot kinematics and plantar fascia strain in running gait at various degrees of inclination. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the above during treadmill running at different inclines (0°, 5°, 10° and 15°).

Methods

Twelve male participants ran at 4.0 m • s-1 in the four different inclinations. Three-dimensional kinematics of the foot segments and plantar fascia strain were quantified for each incline and contrasted using one-way repeated measures ANOVA.

Results and conclusions

The results showed that plantar fascia strain increased significantly as a function of running incline. Given the projected association between plantar fascia strain and the aetiology of injury, inclined running may be associated with a greater incidence of injury to the plantar fascia.
Categorizing expressive speech acts in the pragmatically annotated SPICE Ireland corpus
Authors: Ronan Patricia
Published: May 2015

Expressive speech acts are one of the five basic categories of speech acts identified by Searle (1976). Expressives remain underresearched, though select categories of expressive speech acts, especially offering thanks and compliments, have received more extensive attention. An overall classification of expressive speech acts on the basis of corpus data has not yet been carried out. The current study provides a first survey of different types of expressive speech acts on the basis of three categories of spoken Irish English of different levels of formality: broadcast discussion, classroom discussion and face-to-face interaction. The data are extracted from the pragmatically tagged SPICE-Ireland corpus, a member of the International Corpus of English-family of corpora. The aim of the current study is to offer an overview and classification of expressives in the corpus material. Eight distinct subcategories of expressive speech acts are identified in this study. These categories are agreement, disagreement, volition, offering thanks, apologies, exclamations, expressions of sorrow and greetings.
The Dynamic Characteristic and Hysteresis Effect of an Air Spring
Authors: Löcken F. , Welsch M.
Published: May 2015

In many applications of vibration technology, especially in chassis, air springs present a common alternative to steel spring concepts. A design-independent and therefore universal approach is presented to describe the dynamic characteristic of such springs. Differential and constitutive equations based on energy balances of the enclosed volume and the mountings are given to describe the nonlinear and dynamic characteristics. Therefore all parameters can be estimated directly from physical and geometrical properties, without parameter fitting. The numerically solved equations fit very well to measurements of a passenger car air spring. In a second step a simplification of this model leads to a pure mechanical equation. While in principle the same parameters are used, just an empirical correction of the effective heat transfer coefficient is needed to handle some simplification on this topic. Finally, a linearization of this equation leads to an analogous mechanical model that can be assembled from two common spring- and one dashpot elements in a specific arrangement. This transfer into ”mechanical language” enables a system description with a simple force-displacement law and a consideration of the nonobvious hysteresis and stiffness increase of an air spring from a mechanical point of view.
Computer-Aided Construction at Designing Reinforced Concrete Columns as Per Ec
Authors: Zielińska M. , Grębowski K.
Published: May 2015

The article presents the authors’ computer program for designing and dimensioning columns in reinforced concrete structures taking into account phenomena affecting their behaviour and information referring to design as per EC. The computer program was developed with the use of C++ programming language. The program guides the user through particular dimensioning stages: from introducing basic data such as dimensions, concrete class, reinforcing steel class and forces affecting the column, through calculating the creep coefficient taking into account the impact of imperfection depending on the support scheme and also the number of mating members at load shit, buckling length, to generating the interaction curve graph. The final result of calculations provides two dependence points calculated as per methods of nominal stiffness and nominal curvature. The location of those points relative to the limit curve determines whether the column load capacity is assured or has been exceeded. The content of the study describes in detail the operation of the computer program and the methodology and phenomena which are indispensable at designing axially and eccentrically the compressed members of reinforced concrete structures as per the European standards.
Experimental and Analytical Research on Resonance Phenomena of Vibrating Head with MRE Regulating Element
Authors: Miedzińska D. , Gieleta R. , Osiński J.
Published: May 2015

A vibratory pile hammer (VPH) is a mechanical device used to drive steel piles as well as tube piles into soil to provide foundation support for buildings or other structures. In order to increase the stability and the efficiency of the VPH work in the over-resonance frequency, a new VPH construction was developed at the Military University of Technology. The new VPH contains a system of counter-rotating eccentric weights, powered by hydraulic motors, and designed in such a way that horizontal vibrations cancel out, while vertical vibrations are transmitted into the pile. This system is suspended in the static parts by the adaptive variable stiffness pillows based on a smart material, magnetorheological elastomer (MRE), whose rheological and mechanical properties can be reversibly and rapidly controlled by an external magnetic field. The work presented in the paper is a part of the modified VPH construction design process. It concerns the experimental research on the vibrations during the piling process and the analytical analyses of the gained signal. The results will be applied in the VPH control system.
Validating Dart Model
Authors: Mazur Jolanta , Zaborek Piotr
Published: May 2015

The primary objective of the study was to quantitatively test the DART model, which despite being one of the most popular representations of co-creation concept was so far studied almost solely with qualitative methods. To this end, the researchers developed a multiple measurement scale and employed it in interviewing managers. The statistical evidence for adequacy of the model was obtained through CFA with AMOS software. The findings suggest that the DART model may not be an accurate representation of co-creation practices in companies. From the data analysis it was evident that the building blocks of DART had too much of conceptual overlap to be an effective framework for quantitative analysis. It was also implied that the phenomenon of co-creation is so rich and multifaceted that it may be more adequately captured by a measurement model where co-creation is conceived as a third-level factor with two layers of intermediate latent variables.
Signaling cascades and inflammasome activation in microbial infections
Authors: Ali Syed Raza , Karin Michael , Nizet Victor
Published: May 2015

Recognition of extracellular pathogenassociated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) results in activation of host defense signaling pathways. Some virulent microbes can attenuate and escape antimicrobial immunity by manipulating these signaling pathways. However, impairment of the primary innate response may potentiate the activation of secondary defense program, centered around Nucleotide-binding domain and Leucine-rich repeat containing Receptor (NLRs) for inflammasome formation and IL-1β production. This review analyzes the current knowledge regarding association of innate immune signaling pathways with inflammasome activation in response to bacterial infection.
Evaluation and modeling of aerodynamic properties of mung bean seeds
Authors: Shahbazi Feizollah
Published: May 2015

Aerodynamic properties of solid materials have long been used to convey and separate seeds and grains during post harvest operations. The objective of this study was the evaluation of the aerodynamic properties of mung bean seeds as a function of moisture content and two grades referred to above and below a cut point of 4.8 mm in length. The results showed that as the moisture content increased from 7.8 to 25% (w.b.), the terminal velocity of seeds increased following a polynomial relationship, from 7.28 to 8.79 and 6.02 to 7.12 m s-1, for grades A and B, respectively. Seeds at grade A had terminal velocities with a mean value of 8.05 m s-1, while at grade B had a mean value of 6.46 m s-1. The Reynolds number of both grades increased linearly with the increase of seeds moisture content, while the drag coefficient decreased with the increase of moisture content. Mathematical relationships were developed to relate the change in seeds moisture content with the obtained values of aerodynamic properties. The analysis of variance showed that moisture content had a significant effect, at 1% probability level, on all the aerodynamics properties of mung beans.
Effect of reclamation on the structure of silty-clay soils irrigated with saline-sodic waters
Authors: Cucci Giovanna , Lacolla Giovanni , Pagliai Marcello , Vignozzi Nadia
Published: May 2015

The objective of the work was to evaluate, by using the micromorphometric method, the effects of reclamation on porosity of two different clay loam soils irrigated with saline-sodic waters. Soil samples of the Ap horizon were put in cylindrical containers and irrigated with 9 types of saline-sodic waters (3 levels of salinity combined with 3 levels of sodicity). After a 4-year period, correction treatments were initiated by addition of calcium sulphate and leaching until electrical conductivity and sodium absorption ratio values of the drainage water matched 3 dS m-1 and 9, respectively. After 2 years of correction treatments, undisturbed soil samples were taken from the surface layer and soil thin sections for porosity measurements. Both soils did not show critical macroporosity values (> 10%, below this threshold a soil is classified as compact). Nevertheless, the soils exhibited a different behaviour: total porosity of the Pachic Haploxeroll soil was not affected by difference in water salinity and alkalinity; on the contrary, the Udertic Ustochrept soil showed a lower porosity associated with higher salt concentration in the irrigation waters. This may be due to the different iron and aluminium sesquioxides content and, as a consequence, a different effect on soil aggregate stability.
Dehydrogenase activity of forest soils depends on the assay used
Authors: Januszek Kazimierz , Długa Joanna , Socha Jarosław
Published: May 2015

Dehydrogenases are exclusively intracellular enzymes, which play an important role in the initial stages of oxidation of soil organic matter. One of the most frequently used methods to estimate dehydrogenase activity in soil is based on the use of triphenyltetrazolium chloride as an artificial electron acceptor. The purpose of this study was to compare the activity of dehydrogenases of forest soils with varied physicochemical properties using different triphenyltetrazolium chloride assays. The determination was carried out using the original procedure by Casida et al., a modification of the procedure which involves the use of Ca(OH)2 instead of CaCO3, the Thalmann method, and the assay by Casida et al. without addition of buffer or any salt. Soil dehydrogenase activity depended on the assay used. Dehydrogenase determined by the Casida et al. method without addition of buffer or any salt correlated with the pH values of soils. The autoclaved strongly acidic samples of control soils showed high concentrations of triphenylformazan, probably due to chemical reduction of triphenyltetrazolium chloride. There is, therefore, a need for a sterilization method other than autoclaving, ie a process that results in significant changes in soil properties, thus helping to increase the chemical reduction of triphenyltetrazolium chloride.
Non-enzymatic browning and flavour kinetics of vacuum dried onion slices
Authors: Mitra Jayeeta , Shrivastava Shanker L. , Rao Pavuluri S.
Published: May 2015

Onion slices were dehydrated under vacuum to produce good quality dried ready-to-use onion slices. Colour development due to non-enzymatic browning and flavour loss in terms of thiosulphinate concentration was determined, along with moisture content and rehydration ratio. Kinetics of non-enzymatic browning and thiosulphinate loss during drying was analysed. Colour change due to non-enzymatic browning was found to be much lower in the case of vacuum dried onion, and improved flavour retention was observed as compared to hot air dried onion slices. The optical index values for non-enzymatic browning varied from 18.41 to 38.68 for untreated onion slices and from 16.73 to 36.51 for treated slices, whereas thiosulphinate concentration in the case of untreated onion slices was within the range of 2.96-3.92 μmol g-1 for dried sample and 3.71-4.43 μmol g-1 for the treated onion slices. Rehydration ratio was also increased, which may be attributed to a better porous structure attained due to vacuum drying. The treatment applied was found very suitable in controlling non-enzymatic browning and flavour loss during drying, besides increasing rehydration ratio. Hence, high quality dried ready- to-use onion slices were prepared.
Prediction of moisture content uniformity using hyperspectral imaging technology during the drying of maize kernel
Authors: Huang Min , Zhao Weiyan , Wang Qingguo , Zhang Min , Zhu Qibing
Published: May 2015

Moisture content uniformity is one of critical parameters to evaluate the quality of dried products and the drying technique. The potential of the hyperspectral imaging technique for evaluating the moisture content uniformity of maize kernels during the drying process was investigated. Predicting models were established using the partial least squares regression method. Two methods, using the prediction value of moisture content to calculate the uniformity (indirect) and predicting the moisture content uniformity directly, were investigated. Better prediction results were achieved using the direct method (with correlation coefficients RP = 0.848 and root-mean-square error of prediction RMSEP = 2.73) than the indirect method (RP = 0.521 and RMSEP = 10.96). The hyperspectral imaging technique showed significant potential in evaluating moisture content uniformity of maize kernels during the drying process.
Low-Cost Scalable Home Video Surveillance System
Authors: Przybylo Jaromir , Grabska-Chrzastowska Joanna , Korohoda Przemyslaw
Published: May 2015

Automated and intelligent video processing and analysis systems are becoming increasingly popular in video surveillance. Such systems must meet a number of requirements, such as threat detection and real-time video recording. Furthermore, they cannot be expensive and must not consume too much energy because they have to operate continuously. The work presented here focuses on building a home video surveillance system matching the household budget and possibly making use of hardware available in the house. Also, it must provide basic functionality (such as video recording and detecting threats) all the time, and allow for a more in-depth analysis when more computing power be available.
Analysis of the Granular Material Concentration Changes During Silo Discharging Process Based on X-Ray Image Analysis
Authors: Grudzien Krzysztof
Published: May 2015

In the paper is presented methodology of the X-ray image processing application to investigate gravitational flow in rectangular silo model. The proposed normalization procedure of X-ray data allows to visualize the changes of the volume fraction of sand during silo discharging process. The applied procedure of image processing, in contrast to the previously author works, allows to obtained more accurate information about the changes of material distribution level during process. The conducted image analysis simplifies the investigation of mass flow in various area of silo. The obtained results show the different particle behaviour in centre and at silo wall area. The experiments were conducted for different initially level of sand densities and roughness of the silo wall. Visualization of dissimilarity in interaction between the particles and particles, and between particles and the silo walls, even for smooth wall, was the main result of the Xray image analysis, especially for shear zone visualization.
Identity and the New Nationalist Pronouncements
Authors: Kaufmann Jean-Claude
Published: May 2015

It is a common mistake to believe that identity deals with history, our memory, and our roots. While the center of identity-related processes is quite different, it cannot certainly ignore objective reality, and the individual’s past. The inflationary use of the term dates only half a century back. Before that (except for administration) rarely was there any question of identity posed, because the individual was defined mainly by the institutional frameworks that determined him. The question of identity might have emerged gradually, as the gap widened, in the case of an individuality willing to be asserting itself as autonomous. First and foremost, it emerges out of subjectivity at work, with the purpose of making meaning which, in turn, is no longer conferred only by the social position occupied. It is an ever changing meaning, and in every instance a necessary condition of action. This is so because in a society dominated by reflexivity and critical thinking, the individual is persistently compelled to get involved in a cognitive functioning of the opposite type, in order to be able to act, creating small beliefs underlying personal evidences. At the heart of the most advanced modernity, the core of identity processes is, surprisingly, of a religious type. This process does not render itself evident in an isolated manner. Various affiliations (cultural, national, and religious) may be used, as well as many others resources, often mobile and diverse, which may turn into totalitarian, fixed, exclusive and sectarian statements. By such a framing of the entire landscape of the identity process, one may better understand the paradoxical situation of current nationalist expressions in Europe. They do not disappear, but sometimes even materialize into acute forms, even if the frameworks of socialization become increasingly transnational. It is precisely because the objective substrate of national identity is weakening, that its eruptive movements (during crises provoked by extremely different reasons) become unpredictable and uncontrollable and particularly dangerous for democracy.
From Cow to Cradle. Mutations and Meanings of Rural Household in Post-socialism
Authors: Mihăilescu Vintilă
Published: May 2015

This article points at the path to modernization of the recent Romanian households, meaning, in this case, the out ruling of productive activities from the household’s space and time (Max Weber). A brief social history of the household (gospodărie) tries to trace back this longue durée process focusing on the shift in the work ethics from a normative model of the ‘good householder’ to an ‘aesthetisation of life’ (Max Weber) and symbolic emancipation. The main interest of the article concerns the relatively new phenomenon of ‘rustic houses’, which is less an architectural, than a lifestyle choice. Contrasted with the former ‘pride houses’ that spread all over the Romanian villages in the last decade, the peasant rustic taste seems to express a kind of return to the local and the past articulated with a modern concern for comfort and appearance: ‘rustic is traditional and modern in the same time!’ – claimed one of our informants. Rusticity thus becomes a (post)modern simulacrum of genuine peasant life. The final part of the article tries to transcend this mere semantic overview in search of its deeper and subjective motivations. In doing so, the article is approaching these recent rural households in the terms of Axel Honneth’s social recognition theory. It also suggests that, in this respect, the rustic taste expresses an existential search for authenticity.
Neoliberalism: A Foucauldian Perspective
Authors: Cotoi Călin
Published: May 2015

The contemporary investigations on power, politics, government and knowledge are profoundly influenced by Foucault’s work. Governmentality, as a specific way of seeing the connections between the formation of subjectivities and population politics, has been used extensively in anthropology as neoliberal governmentalities have been spreading after the 1990s all over the world. A return to Foucault can help to clarify some overtly ideological uses of ‘neoliberalism’ in nowadays social sciences.
The Idea Is for Us to Work Here In The Workshop!: The Re-functionalization Of Artisans’ Economic and Cultural Circuits In Florianopolis, South Brazil
Authors: de Oliveira Corrêa Ronaldo , Rial Carmen , Queluz Gilson Leandro
Published: May 2015

The purpose of the paper is to present and interpret strategies used by urban artisans to (re)functionalize their workshops into showcases where their performances are (re)organized and exhibited. The workshop is presented here as a privileged space where different aesthetic and political, economic and historic experiences (re)construct performances, as well as other systems of artifacts and spatialities. The atelier is understood as architectural space that performatizes globalized scenographies of desire and their fragmentations and overlappings. We conducted an ethnography impregnated by the random relation of events, encounters and exchanges (whether symbolic or economic) in urban contexts. As a result, we present various devices that trigger expression and updating found in both the artisans’ biographical trajectories and in the systems of artifacts and spaces in a recent urban society.
Monadic Tree Print
Authors: Grzanek Konrad
Published: May 2015

Directed acyclic graphs and trees in particular belong to the most extensively used data structures. Visualizing them properly is a key to a success when developing complex algorithms that make use of them. Textual visualizations a la UNIX tree command is essential when the urge is to deal with large trees. Our aim was to design a library that would exploit this approach and to make an implementation of it for a purely functional programming language. The library uses monads to print directly into an output stream or to generate immutable Strings. This paper gives a detailed overview of the solution.
Population Diversity Maintenance In Brain Storm Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Cheng Shi , Shi Yuhui , Qin Quande , Zhang Qingyu , Bai Ruibin
Published: May 2015

The convergence and divergence are two common phenomena in swarm intelligence. To obtain good search results, the algorithm should have a balance on convergence and divergence. The premature convergence happens partially due to the solutions getting clustered together, and not diverging again. The brain storm optimization (BSO), which is a young and promising algorithm in swarm intelligence, is based on the collective behavior of human being, that is, the brainstorming process. The convergence strategy is utilized in BSO algorithm to exploit search areas may contain good solutions. The new solutions are generated by divergence strategy to explore new search areas. Premature convergence also happens in the BSO algorithm. The solutions get clustered after a few iterations, which indicate that the population diversity decreases quickly during the search. A definition of population diversity in BSO algorithm is introduced in this paper to measure the change of solutions’ distribution. The algorithm's exploration and exploitation ability can be measured based on the change of population diversity. Different kinds of partial reinitialization strategies are utilized to improve the population diversity in BSO algorithm. The experimental results show that the performance of the BSO is improved by part of solutions re-initialization strategies.
A Parametric Testing Of The Firefly Algorithm In The Determination Of The Optimal Osmotic Drying Parameters Of Mushrooms
Authors: Yeomans Julian Scott
Published: May 2015

The Firefly Algorithm (FA) is employed to determine the optimal parameter settings in a case study of the osmotic dehydration process of mushrooms. In the case, the functional form of the dehydration model is established through a response surface technique and the resulting mathematical programming is formulated as a non-linear goal programming model. For optimization purposes, a computationally efficient, FA-driven method is used and the resulting optimal process parameters are shown to be superior to those from previous approaches. The final section of this study provides a computational experimentation performed on the FA to analyze its relative sensitivity over a range of the two key parameters that most influence its running time.
Spa Garden in Daruvar – Methods of Renewal and Reconstruction
Authors: Šćitaroci Mladen Obad , Šćitaroci Bojana Bojanić Obad , Radić Ksenija
Published: May 2015

Spa garden in Daruvar ‘Julius’s Park’ is the oldest spa garden in continental Croatia. The counts Jankovich and their successors created the garden during the 18th and 20th century. The garden resumed its nowadays form and surface in the time of count Julius Jankovich in the mid-19th century and it was named after him. The garden is protected as a cultural heritage. The garden’s renovation is seen as an urban, architectural and landscape unity and it attempts to affirm the missing and neglected parts of the garden, to provide technological and municipal space modernization and to make a pleasant urban garden ambiance with new facilities and high space arrangement qualities, contributing to the economic development of the local community.
Monetary Policy Objectives During the Crisis: An Overview of Selected Southeast European Countries
Authors: Krstevska Aneta
Published: May 2015

The recent global crisis brought many challenges to the central bankers worldwide, including the issue of monetary policy objectives. In this view, besides price stability maintenance, a special attention by central bankers during the crisis was given to the output stabilization. This paper explores this issue on the case of a group of countries from Southeast Europe (SEE). For this purpose, rather simple analysis of the policy rate and output gap as well as output gap variability by countries have been provided, aimed at giving some initial insights of the monetary policy and output stabilization during the crisis. Our findings pointed that the central banks in the analysed SEE countries paid attention to the output stabilization, specifically during the crisis period and that was presumably enabled by controllable inflation developments.
In vitro antioxidant and anti-lipoperoxidative activities of bark extracts of Xylopia aethiopica against ion-mediated toxicity on liver homogenates
Authors: Moukette Moukette Bruno , Pieme Constant Anatole , Nya Biapa Prosper Cabral , Ngogang Jeanne Yonkeu
Published: May 2015

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), products of normal cell metabolism may cause damage to biological macromolecules leading to severe health threats when they are present in high concentrations. Aromatic plants contain phytochemicals rich of antioxidants that prevent oxidant formation or scavenge oxidants produced under oxidative stress conditions. In the present study, we investigated the free radical scavenging effects, the antioxidant and ion toxicity preventive effect of
An Energy Efficient Protocol For The Internet Of Things
Authors: Venčkauskas Algimantas , Jusas Nerijus , Kazanavičius Egidijus , Štuikys Vytautas
Published: May 2015

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technological revolution that represents the future of computing and communications. One of the most important challenges of IoT is security: protection of data and privacy. The SSL protocol is the de-facto standard for secure Internet communications. The extra energy cost of encrypting and authenticating of the application data with SSL is around 15%. For IoT devices, where energy resources are limited, the increase in the cost of energy is a very significant factor. In this paper we present the energy efficient SSL protocol which ensures the maximum bandwidth and the required level of security with minimum energy consumption. The proper selection of the security level and CPU multiplier, can save up to 85% of the energy required for data encryption.
The development of physical geodesy during
1984-2014 – A personal review
Authors: Sjöberg Lars E.
Published: May 2015

This article is a personal review of the development
of physical geodesy during 1984-2014. The period
is characterized by an intensive advance in both data
and theory to meet the growing technical demands in
GPS/GNSS applications and scientific needs in geoscience.
As a result,many parts of theworld are nowmapped with a
1cmdetailed geoid model, and the global long- to mediumwavelengths
of the gravity field and geoid are homogeneously
determined to 1 mGal and 1 cm by satellite-only
dedicated satellite gravity missions. The future can expect
to see even higher demands for accuracy and reliability to
satisfy the specifications for a pure geoid model based vertical
datum.
On the role of rock fragments and initial soil water content in the potential subsurface runoff formation
Authors: Hlaváčiková Hana , Novák Viliam , Holko Ladislav
Published: May 2015

Stony soils are composed of fractions (rock fragments and fine soil) with different hydrophysical characteristics. Although they are abundant in many catchments, their properties are still not well understood. This article presents basic characteristics (texture, stoniness, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and soil water retention) of stony soils from a mountain catchment located in the highest part of the Carpathian Mountains and summarizes results of water flow modeling through a hypothetical stony soil profile. Numerical simulations indicate the highest vertical outflow from the bottom of the profile in soils without rock fragments under ponding infiltration condition. Simulation of a more realistic case in a mountain catchment, i.e. infiltration of intensive rainfall, shows that when rainfall intensity is lower than the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the stony soil, the highest outflow is predicted in a soil with the highest stoniness and high initial water content of soil matrix. Relatively low available retention capacity in a stony soil profile and consequently higher unsaturated hydraulic conductivity leads to faster movement of the infiltration front during rainfall.
Validating Sensitive Questions: A Comparison of Survey and Register Data
Authors: Kirchner Antje
Published: May 2015

This article explores the randomized response technique (RRT) - to be specific, a symmetric forced-choice implementation - as a means of improving the quality of survey data collected on receipt of basic income support. Because the sampled persons in this study were selected from administrative records, the proportion of respondents who have received transfer payments for basic income support, and thus the proportion of respondents who should have reported receipt is known.

The article addresses two research questions: First, it assesses whether the proportion of socially undesirable responses (indication of receipt of transfer payments) can be increased by applying the RRT. Estimates obtained in the RRT condition are compared to those from direct questioning, as well as to the known true prevalence. Such administrative record data are rare in the literature on sensitive questions and provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the ‘more-is-better’ assumption. Second, using multivariate analyses, mechanisms contributing to response accuracy are analyzed for one of the subsamples.

The main results can be summarized as follows: reporting accuracy of welfare benefit receipt cannot be increased using this particular variant of the RRT. Further, there is only weak evidence that the RRT elicits more accurate information compared to direct questioning in specific subpopulations.
Soil management system in hazelnut groves (Corylus sp.) versus the presence of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)
Authors: Nietupski Mariusz , Kosewska Agnieszka , Markuszewski Bogumił , Sądej Wojciech
Published: May 2015

Sustaining biodiversity as well as taking advantage of the natural environment’s resistance are the key elements which should be considered when designing integrated plans for the protection of hazelnut groves. An effort has been made in this study to analyse the impact of different soil cultivation methods in hazelnut groves, on the species composition and number of individuals in carabid assemblages (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Another aim was to determine which method of inter-row soil management had the least negative effect on assemblages of these beetles. Because of the type of habitat, the xerothermic species characteristic for southeastern Europe, i.e. Calathus ambiguus, Poecilus lepidus, Harpalus calceatus, and H. griseus, were the most numerous. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the captured individuals implied that the optimal soil tillage system in young hazelnut groves is when soil is kept fallow with machines or chemicals, or when soil is covered with manure. The least favourable practice for the appearance of ground beetles of the Carabidae family is the use of polypropylene fabric, bark or sawdust, to cover soil
Formulation of the endophytic fungus Cladosporium oxysporum Berk. & M.A. Curtis, isolated from Euphorbia bupleuroides subsp. luteola, as a new biocontrol tool against the black bean aphid (Aphis fabae Scop.)
Authors: Bensaci Oussama Ali , Daoud Harzallah , Lombarkia Nadia , Rouabah Khamsa
Published: May 2015

Two formulations containing culture filtrates and conidial suspensions of the endophytic fungus Cladosporium oxysporum Berk. & M.A. Curtis, isolated previously from stems of Euphorbia bupleuroides subsp. luteola (Kralik) Maire, were experimentally tested for their aphicid activity against the black bean aphid Aphis fabae Scop. found in Algeria. It was shown that invert emulsions are more effective against aphids, than using aqueous suspensions. This was especially true for formulations containing culture filtrates. The relatively insignificant mortalities obtained by formulations containing conidial suspensions indicated a low infectious potential towards the aphids. The proteolytic activity seemed to be more important than the chitinolytic activity of the fungus against the black bean aphid A. fabae
‘Bois noir’: new phytoplasma disease of grapevine in Iran
Authors: Mirchenari Seyed Mehdi , Massah Amir , Zirak Leila
Published: May 2015

Recently, grapevines showing symptoms suggesting the ‘bois noir’ phytoplasma disease were observed in vineyards located in several central provinces of Iran. Polymerase chain reaction assays using phytoplasma universal primer pair P1A/P7A followed by primer pair R16F2n/R16R2 in nested PCR, confirmed the association of phytoplasmas with symptomatic grapevines. The results of RFLP analyses using HpaII, HinfI, MseI, RsaI, and TaqI restriction enzymes, indicated that grapevine phytoplasma isolates in these regions could be related to the 16SrXII group. Sequence analyses of the partial 16S rRNA gene confirmed that Iranian grapevine phytoplasmas are associated with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’. This is the first report of the ‘bois noir’ disease outbreak in Iran
Fusarium head blight (FHB) and Fusarium populations in grain of winter wheat grown in different cultivation systems
Authors: Lenc Leszek
Published: May 2015

Fusarium head blight (FHB) incidence, and colonisation of grain by Fusarium species on winter wheat grown in organic, integrated, and conventional systems as well as in monoculture, were studied locally in Poland, from 2002 to 2010. Fusarium head blight incidence differed throughout the study years. It was found to occur the most where rainfall was highest and where rainfall was the most prolonged before, during, and after flowering of wheat. Fusarium head blight incidence was generally less on wheat grown organically than on wheat grown in other systems. In some years, FHB was noted more in monocultures than in other systems. Fusarium poae was the most common species of FHB populations in wheat kernels, followed by F. avenaceum and F. tricinctum. Other species which occurred more rarely or sporadically were: F. culmorum, F. equiseti, F. graminearum, F. langsethiae, F. oxysporum, and F. sporotrichioides. There were found to be significant effects of the cropping system on grain colonisation by Fusarium in some years. There was a positive correlation between FHB incidence and number of kernels colonised and damaged by Fusarium, in all four systems. Inferences were drawn concerning the effects of different procedures in different production systems and the possible value for controlling FHB