bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overinvestment in selected Central and Eastern European countries: Production and economic effects
Authors: Pawłowski Krzysztof Piotr , Czubak Wawrzyniec , Zmyślona Jagoda , Sadowski Arkadiusz
Published: May 2021

Farms need to invest in order to earn incomes and maintain their competitive edge. However, the scale and extent of investments must be aligned with resources of other productive inputs, primarily including land, because otherwise there is risk of overinvestment. Since 2004, Central and Eastern European countries have been provided with access to investment support programs; these are non-repayable aid funds which can potentially lead to overinvestment issues. Therefore, this paper attempts to answer the question on the scale of overinvestment in the countries covered. This is all the more important since that problem has rarely been addressed in economic and agricultural research. The study presented in this paper is unique in that the research tasks are based on unpublished Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) microdata for 5839 selected Central and Eastern European farms provided by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). Based on variables relating to the amount of productive inputs and production volumes, the authors developed their own typology of farms which includes the following categories: optimum investment levels (the growth rate of labor productivity is greater than growth in the assets-to-land ratio); relative overinvestment (while labor productivity grows, it does so at a slower rate than the assets-to-land ratio); absolute overinvestment (labor productivity declines while the assets-to-land ratio grows); underinvestment (decline in both labor productivity and the assets-to-land ratio). The authors demonstrated that members of the ‘absolute overinvestment’ group made flagrant mistakes in investment planning and implementation, whereas members of the ‘relative overinvestment’ group did record an improvement in labor productivity which ultimately can be considered a positive outcome. Underinvested farms were a very small minority in each country. In addition to filling a gap in the methodology for determining agricultural overinvestment, this paper also indicates the scale of that issue in Central and Eastern European countries. This study may be of importance both to farms (as guidelines for investment planning) and to agricultural policymakers who develop investment support programs.
Rapid progression is associated with lymphoid follicle dysfunction in SIV-infected infant rhesus macaques
Authors: Wood Matthew P. , Jones Chloe I. , Lippy Adriana , Oliver Brian G. , Walund Brynn , Fancher Katherine A. , Fisher Bridget S. , Wright Piper J. , Fuller James T. , Murapa Patience , Habib Jakob , Mavigner Maud , Chahroudi Ann , Sather D. Noah , Fuller Deborah H. , Sodora Donald L.
Published: May 2021

HIV-infected infants are at an increased risk of progressing rapidly to AIDS in the first weeks of life. Here, we evaluated immunological and virological parameters in 25 SIV-infected infant rhesus macaques to understand the factors influencing a rapid disease outcome. Infant macaques were infected with SIVmac251 and monitored for 10 to 17 weeks post-infection. SIV-infected infants were divided into either typical (TypP) or rapid (RP) progressor groups based on levels of plasma anti-SIV antibody and viral load, with RP infants having low SIV-specific antibodies and high viral loads. Following SIV infection, 11 out of 25 infant macaques exhibited an RP phenotype. Interestingly, TypP had lower levels of total CD4 T cells, similar reductions in CD4/CD8 ratios and elevated activation of CD8 T cells, as measured by the levels of HLA-DR, compared to RP. Differences between the two groups were identified in other immune cell populations, including a failure to expand activated memory (CD21-CD27+) B cells in peripheral blood in RP infant macaques, as well as reduced levels of germinal center (GC) B cells and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in spleens (4- and 10-weeks post-SIV). Reduced B cell proliferation in splenic germinal GCs was associated with increased SIV+ cell density and follicular type 1 interferon (IFN)-induced immune activation. Further analyses determined that at 2-weeks post SIV infection TypP infants exhibited elevated levels of the GC-inducing chemokine CXCL13 in plasma, as well as significantly lower levels of viral envelope diversity compared to RP infants. Our findings provide evidence that early viral and immunologic events following SIV infection contributes to impairment of B cells, Tfh cells and germinal center formation, ultimately impeding the development of SIV-specific antibody responses in rapidly progressing infant macaques.
El Sistema Privado de Pensiones como obstáculo para la construcción de la Seguridad Social en los países subdesarrollados: Lecciones desde el caso peruano
Authors: Quintana García Luis Alberto
Published: May 2021

En el presente trabajo se analiza el desarrollo del Sistema Privado de Pensiones, desde la experiencia peruana, respecto a tres ámbitos fundamentales: 1) Su proceso de implementación y consolidación, 2) el papel de la inversión de los fondos de pensiones en el ámbito tanto exterior como doméstico, y 3) los conflictos estructurales durante la pandemia, específicamente aquellas vinculadas a las medidas de retiros de fondos de pensiones y sus efectos; a partir de ello, evaluaremos críticamente el papel del Sistema Privado de Pensiones ante la posibilidad de construir una Seguridad Social genuina. Con ello, se establecen los lineamientos generales para que países en las mismas condiciones de subdesarrollo y dependencia puedan evaluar el panorama futuro de las reformas previsionales que deberán incidir, necesariamente, sobre la estructura económica.
Monitoring bias and fairness in machine learning models: A review
Authors: Bacelar Marley
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Machine learning algorithms are quickly gaining traction in both the private and public sectors for their ability to automate both simple and complex decision-making processes. The vast majority of economic sectors, including transportation, retail, advertisement, and energy, are being disrupted by widespread data digitization and the emerging technologies that leverage it. Computerized systems are being introduced in government operations to improve accuracy and objectivity, and AI is having an impact on democracy and governance [1]. Numerous businesses are using machine learning to analyze massive quantities of data, from calculating credit for loan applications to scanning legal contracts for errors to analyzing employee interactions with customers to detect inappropriate behavior. New tools make it easier than ever for developers to design and deploy machine-learning algorithms [2] [3].
Multipurpose agriculture cultivator
Authors: Riyaz Sarfaraz , sapkal anvesh hemant , shaikh Taufiq rafiq , radkar Dilip bhagwatrao , sawant Akash mangesh
Published: May 2021

In this modern era research in the agricultural field is going on. Plant nursery is important part of agriculture field and facing many problems. The problems are availability of low productivity rate and more manual efforts required for seed feeding. In plant nursery more time is required for plantation which is due to seed feeding process. For reducing these problems of plant nursery research of multipurpose agriculture cultivator mechanism is used. MAC is a semi-automatic operated machine used for agricultural land operation to give better productivity of crops and to ease the work of farmers. MAC is used for cultivation of land comprising of three major agricultural operation in a single prototype machine which in case would reduce the work load and the use of draft animals. In this report various parameter of the design and the manufacturing of the MAC is studied. The machine would be developed considering the difficulties faced by the farmers.
ANÁLISE DA PRECISÃO E DA ACURACIA DO GPS DE NAVEGAÇÃO PARA LEVANTAMENTO DE LOCAÇÃO DE PEQUENAS ÁREAS
Authors: OLIVEIRA CELSO PEREIRA DE , De Arruda Silva Selma Maria , Venâncio Santana Rodrigo
Published: May 2021

O sistema de posicionamento global - GPS vem sendo empregado para levantamento de áreas por ser uma tecnologia que garante ao usuário, facilidade e praticidade. O objetivo deste artigo foi avaliar a precisão e a acurácia da constelação GPS definidas previamente no aparelho quanto as medidas de área e perímetro. Avaliou-se com GPS de navegação Garmin Etrex 20 nos dias 11, 12, 13 e 14 de agosto de 2015 quatro medições com dois tempos avaliando a precisão e a acurácia, tomando como base a medição obtida por teodolito. Os resultados confirmaram que houve variação na localização espacial dos pontos coletados com aparelho GPS, e demonstrou diferença de aumento ou decréscimo nos valores das áreas calculadas. Quanto a comparação da medição do GPS com os valores medidos com o teodolito conclui-se que os tempos utilizados com o receptor GPS de navegação não apresentaram resultados satisfatórios para serem utilizados em operação de alta precisão.
AS UNIVERSIDADES E SUA IMPORTÂNCIA NA FORMAÇÃO TERRITORIAL BRASILEIRA: O CASO DE MINAS GERAIS
Authors: Martins de Souza Anselmo Rita de Cássia
Published: May 2021

As Instituições de Ensino Superior, sobretudo as universidades federais e estaduais, ocupam um lugar central na estruturação do estado em Minas Gerais. Nesse sentido, este trabalho traz à luz algumas reflexões iniciais acerca do papel que as universidades desempenham na modernização do território mineiro.
Killing Two Birds with One Stone?
Authors: Escobar Villegas Soledad , Pérez-Nievas Santiago , Cordero Guillermo
Published: May 2021

This article analyses the descriptive representation of immigrant-origin women in two local Spanish elections. On the basis of the influence of political opportunity structures and the role played by political parties, we quantify their presence on party lists and their degree of success in becoming councilwomen. Using the APREPINM database we compare their levels of representation across different immigrant-origin minorities and the degree of gender disparity within each group. Our results show that women originating from the EU and Latin America benefit from greater access to party lists than their male counterparts and their female peers from other groups. But when it comes to being elected as councilwomen, only Latin-American women maintain this comparative advantage.
“Africa does not Fit in Europe”
Authors: Cervi Laura , Tejedor Santiago
Published: May 2021

The politicization of immigration has moved the debate about immigration at the center of the run-up of elections, creating the breeding ground for the electoral breakthrough and success of right-wing populist parties.

This article aims at disclosing the narrative of immigration and its politicization in VOX’s discourse, comparing it to the Italian Lega party.

Clause-based semantic text analysis reveals that both parties share the classic characteristics of nativist populism: the representation of a virtuous and hardworking people, threatened by the invasion by some “others”, immigrants, who intrude the sovereign, antispace of natives to exploit and commit crimes. In both cases, the concept of space is manipulated, representing countries as limited spaces, allowing to depict immigrants as a threat to legitimize negative political responses.

The study also identifies a novelty: the construction of the rescue NGOs as the new antagonist actor.
Gender and Immigration in VOX
Authors: Fernández Suárez Belén
Published: May 2021

This article aims to analyse the gender equality and immigration discourse of VOX. VOX is a member of the European radical right-wing family of political parties that are characterised by the ideological principles of conservatism, nationalism, and nativism. In its analysis of the growth of such forces in Europe, this article focuses on the intersection between the fields of migration studies and gender studies. Qualitative methodology is employed to analyse the official documents and parliamentary speeches of this political party. The results of the analysis obtained show that VOX calls for greater border control and tougher penalties for irregular immigration, which they view as a crime. On gender issues they seek to preserve traditional roles and the division of labour along gender lines, attack feminism as an ideology, and finally, promote natalist policies.
Promouvoir la saine alimentation sur Facebook Live : vers de nouvelles compétences communicationnelles dans les organisations de santé publique ?
Authors: Gonzalez-Galvan Osiris , Espín-Espinoza Alexandra
Published: May 2021

Cet article analyse la gestion des commentaires numériques faite par le ministère de la Santé du Brésil (Ministério da Saúde) lors de la diffusion d’une vidéo en direct sur Facebook Live dans le cadre de la Journée mondiale de l’alimentation 2018. Notre étude a examiné les interventions communicationnelles des travailleurs de la santé qui participent à la vidéo, à travers une analyse qualitative du contenu. Les résultats révèlent qu’il est possible de trouver des traces indiquant que cette organisation a engagé un processus continu de professionnalisation dans le volet de communication numérique qui se traduit par la reconnaissance de l’existence des profils de travail et l’intention de réglementer leurs pratiques professionnelles au sein de l’organisation. En outre, ces actions communicationnelles s’appuient tacitement sur des techniques de changement de comportement (TCC) pour gérer les retours d’informations numériques générés par les textes primaires utilisés pour promouvoir une alimentation saine.
Professionnalisation et politisation des commentaires numériques sur la marque Orange en Afrique de l'Ouest
Authors: Seck-Sarr Sokhna Fatou
Published: May 2021

Cet article explore la professionnalisation et la politisation des commentaires numériques sur la marque de l’opérateur mobile Orange en Afrique subsaharienne. Il souligne d’abord la surreprésentation de commentaires négatifs publiés sur Facebook et Twitter ainsi que la diversité des actions de boycott initiées par les internautes « clients » : orangesatch (2013), Boycott-orange-Niger (2015) Stop aux anarques d’orange Mali (2015) Afrique boycott orange (2016) ou encore Talatay-orange (2018). Il détaille ensuite la nature des commentaires numériques, aux soubassements idéologiques, politiques, voire géopolitiques, ainsi que le détournement des messages publicitaires de la marque (Cultural Jamming) par les contestataires disposant a priori de compétences techniques et sociales. L’étude expose les tactiques privilégiées par la marque Orange notamment la mise en place de « Team digitale » pour animer ses pages Facebook et comptes officiels Twitter ainsi que le recours à des blogueurs/influenceurs pour renforcer son autorité réputationnelle. Enfin, le caractère promotionnel ou divertissant des réponses apportées par les community managers de la marque, dans une situation de communication sensible pouvant déboucher sur une crise, interroge les compétences reliées à l’autorité énonciative de la marque.
Promouvoir « la parité » en entreprise : un enjeu de communication source de dépolitisation de l'égalité
Authors: Bruneel Emmanuelle
Published: May 2021

Cet article s’intéresse à une campagne de communication hybride qui fait la promotion du « volet parité » la politique « diversité » de l’entreprise Accenture intitulée Equals. Son objectif, à la fois institutionnel et promotionnel, est d’attirer les talents en montrant l’entreprise énonciatrice comme un espace de travail où il fait bon travailler. Diffusés dans l’espace public comme en interne de l’organisation, les affiches et leurs messages sont les objets analysés ici. Notre analyse critique du discours de campagne montre la manière dont il reproduit une bicatégorisation genrée normative en soulignant que l’engagement égalitariste déclaré est conditionné à une égalité préalable. Il souligne que les efforts consentis par l’entreprise en vue d’un traitement plus égalitaire sont arrimés à la démonstration des compétences et des performances professionnelles des femmes. Cette posture discursive renvoie implicitement au fait que celles-ci sont elles-mêmes responsables des phénomènes inégalitaires qu’elles subissent dans le monde du travail. Les inégalités sources de discriminations ne sont ici ni montrées ni prises en compte. Ce discours de campagne qui présente l’implication de l’entreprise pour davantage d’égalité constitue dès lors, paradoxalement, un discours à caractère euphémique et aux effets dépolitisants.
Communicateurs et mesure de l’employeur en situation de recrutement, des utilisations sous tension : « les étoiles, ça peut cacher pas mal de choses »
Authors: Pélissier Daniel
Published: May 2021

Cet article analyse les utilisations des mesures de l’organisation comme employeur par les communicateurs dans le contexte d’une communication de recrutement imprégnée de marque employeur. Les plateformes d’avis et de mesures souhaitent transformer l’employeur en bien singulier. Glassdoor est une pionnière de cette approche en proposant des indicateurs synthétiques. Des discours médiatiques soulignent l’intérêt de l’anonymat pour favoriser une forme de transparence de l’organisation. Une enquête auprès de jeunes diplômés a montré une autre vision de ces données en insistant sur leur manque de fiabilité lié, selon eux, à leur construction anonyme. Ainsi, articles de presse et interprétation des utilisateurs illustrent deux façons opposées d’approcher ces chiffres, soit comme indicateur de transparence qui suppose un employeur singulier, soit comme statistique sujette à caution qui renvoie à l’employeur comme bien différencié. Dans cette perspective complexe, les sites internet du secteur bancaire intègrent faiblement ces mesures, illustrant une approche de l’employeur comme bien standard. Les limites de notre étude (secteur particulier et observation externe des pratiques, notamment) ne permettent pas de conclure sur les motivations des communicateurs mais soulignent leur distance vis-à-vis des mesures malgré certains discours d’accompagnement enthousiastes.
Evaluer la communication interne. Une approche critique.
Authors: Heller Thomas
Published: May 2021

Ce texte porte sur l’évaluation de la communication interne. Partant de l’impératif d’évaluation professé par certains professionnels, et en nous appuyant sur une description de l’étendue du domaine de l’évaluation, nous mettons en évidence deux limites à l’évaluation de la communication interne : une limite de type gestionnaire, centrée sur les rapports de causalité entre communication et efficacité, et une limite de type idéologico-politique, centrée sur le rôle affiché de la communication interne dans la littérature professionnelle. Nous concluons en soulignant qu’une approche politique de l’évaluation de la communication interne mériterait de prendre en considération d’autres pratiques que celles qui concernent l’action des professionnels de la communication, et notamment l’évaluation des comportements relationnels, et celle de la dynamique interactionnelle dans les organisations grâce aux technologies numériques.
SCM Professionals’ Competences in Brazil
Authors: Reis Manoel A. S. , Minerbo Claudio , Miguel Priscila L. S.
Published: May 2021

Goal: This paper aims to examine the competences required from supply chain management professionals in Brazil.

Design / Methodology / Approach: A survey with 239 professionals explored 44 different competences they deemed important.

Results: Competences can be grouped in eight categories, some of which updated to reflect the changes in the SCM practice. It reinforces the importance for general behavioral, technical, analytical and business competences, suggested in previous research, and provides a more granular view and emphasizes differences of technical expertise depending on the scope of the manager's function. Technology, information systems and quantitative skills are different competences required to support changes in e-commerce and digital transformations.

Limitations of the investigation: Differences among industry sectors or functions should be investigated in more detail due to respondent´s heterogeneity

Practical implications: Our study can serve as a guide when searching new talents and training SCM professionals, as it emphasizes competences common to all SCM functions and specific depending on their scope.

Originality / Value: Firms operating in service sectors generally demand higher levels of business awareness competences than the ones in manufacturing sectors. This reflects the service-dominance logic, where service is the fundamental basis of exchange and firms need to be more customer oriented.
Fizyk jako element aksjosfery czasów Związku Radzieckiego (na przykładzie reportaży Hanny Krall i Jacka Hugo-Badera)
Authors: Słupianek-Tajnert Daria
Published: May 2021

The article attempts to analyse the conceptualisation of the scientist-physicist based on the examples of selected reportages by Hanna Krall and Jacek Hugo-Bader. The analysis was conducted in an axiolinguistic key and its aim was to confirm the thesis about the important role of physicists in the Soviet axiosphere. It can be observed that in the axiological profile of a physicist, obtained on the basis of an empirical analysis, instrumental values dominate and these are closely connected with the fact that physicists are associated with political interests. Physicists, who function as objects of evaluation in the analysed reportages, are also a means of an indirect evaluation in relation to the political system in the USSR and reflect ways in which the country treats its citizens. The empirical material analysed allows us to conclude that within the Russian linguistic-cultural area, the physicist does not refer us only to a scientist dealing with a specific research discipline, but deserves to be called a concept that reflects a characteristic stage of the social and political life of the USSR, permanently inscribed into the axiosphere of that period.
От реальности к виртуальному миру и обратно: как язык помог нам в освоении Интернета и что произошло потом (на материале русского и польского языков)
Authors: Starodvorskaia Ekaterina
Published: May 2021

The paper deals with the linguistic means that had helped us to adapt to virtual reality and that now seem to us to have existed always. The words and expressions didn’t appear out ofnowhere – they were imported from our everyday language where they had been used for naming objects and processes in the real world. Thus the new realm, such as the physical one, was marked by language signs that determine the nature and the structure of our conception of the Internet which is interpreted generally as a physical space (different types of the latter). These signs are described here in terms of conceptual metaphor theory. Recently we have been dealing with some new, “web-born” expressions. It is shown that such expressions are no more limited to the describing of the Internet and are extended to the real world; it can be said they provide us with new tools to interpret the “old” reality. Thereby we can see the very moment when the source and the target domains (that is real and virtual worlds) are switching their places.
Формальные и семантические сближения в сфере русско-польской межъязыковой омонимии
Authors: Kusal Krzysztof
Published: May 2021

This article deals with the issue of structural and semantic relationships in the area of Russian-Polish interlingual homonymy, such as exclusion, inclusion, and hybridization. The analysis of Russian-Polish homonymous doublets made it possible to specify two basic reasons for the differences in meaning of the lexemes in both languages: semantic divergence of the words with a common etymon (disintegration of polysemy) and phonetic convergence. The study revealed that interlanguage Russian-Polish correspondences with a partial coincidence of lexical meanings make up the largest group of interlanguage homo-pairs. The types of semantic relations described at the word level do not exhaust the variety of semantic relations between Russian-Polish interlanguage homonyms. The depth of meaning development is another theoretical problem of modern lexicology and lexicography. In addition to the semantic differences between Russian-Polish homo-pairs, there may be more complex relationships. They are observed in cases where stylistic and functional discrepancies are layered on semantic inconsistencies. The differences in pragmatic significance are the most significant and can form the subject of independent study.
FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM EUROPEAN CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Authors: KOZOL Ece , ORAN Jale
Published: May 2021

As a result of the increasing volatility in financial markets, the use of financial derivative instruments (forward, futures, option, and swap) has become widespread particularly between large firms around the world. Market risk can be grouped into three categories: exchange rate risk, interest rate risk and commodity price risk. By employing financial derivatives, companies can manage these risks. It is required by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to reveal their financial positions on financial instruments in their financial reports. The related details in financial reports regarding financial derivatives make it possible to do empirical research on the impact of derivative use on firm value. Along with the mixed results on the relationship among hedging and firm value, empirical research that question the impact of hedging on firm operating activities have been unexpectedly missing. In this study, we aim to examine a significant type of firm operations, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, which is well known for changing a firm’s financial risk exposure. By studying the effect of hedging on firm performance through cross-border M&As, we aim to find out whether and in what way risk management affects firm performance. With a sample of 537 cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) conducted by 14 different developed European companies between 2007 and 2019, we find evidence that acquirers with financial hedging programs have higher cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) than those without such programs around deal announcements. Event study, T-test and Mann-Whitney Test are used as research methods in this study. Additionally, our results show that derivatives users experience longer deal completion times than non-users. Overall, this study provides findings for the European region on the connection between corporate financial hedging and firm performance. Our findings regarding Europe support the previous study in the USA.
MARKA DEĞERİ: BIST TEKNOLOJİ ENDEKSİ FİRMALARI ÜZERİNE BİR UYGULAMA
Authors: AVŞARLIGİL Nuri
Published: May 2021

Son yıllarda ticari firmaların, kayıtlı değerlerinin yanı sıra firma değerini arttıran önemli değer kavramlarından birisi de marka değeri kavramıdır. Marka değerinin doğru bir şekilde ölçülebilmesi, firmaların piyasa değerlerinin ve firma performanslarının belirlenebilmesi için hassas bir nokta haline gelmiştir. Bu amaçla çalışmada, Türkiye’deki finansal piyasalardan olan BIST’te işlem gören teknoloji firmalarının marka değerlerini ölçebilmek amacıyla Japonya Ekonomi Ticaret ve Endüstri Bakanlığı tarafından literatüre kazandırılan finansal temelli marka değerleme yöntemlerinden olan Hirose yöntemi kullanılarak marka değeri hesaplaması yapılmıştır. Prestij değişkeni, sadakat değişkeni, genişleme değişkeni ve toplam marka değeri olmak üzere ayrı ayrı sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır. 2015-2019 yılları arasındaki finansal tablolardan türetilen verilerden elde edilen sonuçlara göre marka değeri en yüksek firmanın ASELSAN, marka değeri en düşük olan firmanın ise PLASTİKKART firması olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Çalışmanın literatüre doğrudan katkısı, BIST Teknoloji Endeksi (XUTEK) firmalarının marka değerinin tespit edilmesinde Hirose yönteminin kullanıldığı ilk çalışma olması, söz konusu firmaların finansal temelli marka değerlemesi amacıyla hazırlanmış ilk çalışmalardan olması, pratikte kullanılan ve hesaplama yöntemi bilinmeyen BrandFinance marka değerleme tekniği ile Hirose yönteminin sonuçlarının farklılığını ortaya koyan çalışmalardan bir tanesi olması şeklinde ifade edilebilir. Bu sebeplerden dolayı çalışmanın literatüre katkı sağladığı düşünülmektedir.
Modeling a Bioretention Basin and Vegetated Swale with a Trapezoidal Cross Section using SWMM LID Controls
Authors:   Polytechnique Montreal, Bond Julia , Batchabani Essoyeke ,   Polytechnique Montreal, Fuamba Musandji ,   Polytechnique Montreal, Courchesne David ,   exp. Services Inc., Trudel Guy ,   City of Montreal
Published: May 2021

The Low Impact Development (LID) Control module is utilized in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Stormwater Management Model (USEPA SWMM) to predict the hydraulic performance of a variety of sustainable stormwater technologies. Data collected in 2019 from the monitoring of a pilot project in Montreal was used to verify the ability of the Bioretention LID Control (which assumes a rectangular cross-section) to accurately simulate outflow from a structure with a trapezoidal cross-section. Two types of LID facility were modeled: one releases captured inflow through a perforated underdrain below the soil layer (bioretention basin; BB); and the other is drained at the surface of the soil layer (vegetated swale; VS). Initially, the modeled LID structures were sized identically to the field surface areas. However, it was necessary to change their model representation to account for the non-rectangular shape of the soil layer. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was completed, and the most influential parameters were identified as the conductivity slope and seepage rate. Both the alteration of the LID structure representation and the parametric calibration greatly improved the simulated outflows from the vegetated swale resulting in an increase of the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) coefficient from −0.6 to 0.64 (NSE >0.5 is acceptable for hydrologic models according to the literature). The bioretention basin calibration did not prove as successful. The evaluated LID Control module presented better predictive capabilities for the basin with a simpler overall design (VS).
A Szabad Francia Légierő tevékenysége Afrikában
Authors: Bene Krisztián
Published: May 2021

The Free French Air Forces were the air branch of the Free French Forces during the Second World War from 1940 to 1943 when they finally became part of the new regular French Air Forces. This study aims to present the activity of this special and little-known air force over the territory of Africa during this period.After the French defeat in June 1940 General Charles de Gaulle went to England to continue the fight against the Axis Forces and created the Free French Forces. Several airmen of the French Air Forces rallied to General de Gaulle which allowed the creation of the Free French Forces on 1st July 1940 under the command of Admiral Émile Muselier. The Free French commandment wanted to deploy their units during the reconquest of the French African colonies, so they were sent to participate in the occupation of French Equatorial Africa in 1940. Other flying units struggled in East and North Africa together with British troops against the invading Italian armies. These forces were reorganized in 1941 and continued the fight in the frame of fighter and bombing squadrons (groupes in French). Most of them (five of seven) were created and deployed in Africa as the Lorraine, the Alsace, the Bretagne, the Artois and the Picardie squadrons.From 1940 to 1943 5,000 men served in the ranks of the Free French Air Forces, which is a modest number if we compare with the power of the air forces of the other allied countries. At the same time, the presence and the activity of these forces were an important aid to Great Britain during a hard period of its history, so this contribution was appreciated by the British government in the end of the war at the political scene.
Beyond Foreign Aid in Africa: Is a New Narrative Emerging?
Authors: Hyden Goran
Published: May 2021

Narratives drive politics. Controlling how reality is understood and can be changed gives power and influence over development. For the last four decades African countries have to a large extent lived off the generosity of the international donor community. The cost of doing so has been obvious: the imperative to follow policy prescriptions that have worked elsewhere and for that reason alone have been treated as relevant and helpful also for Africa. This liberal internationalist approach has been centred on the twin principles of free market and democratic governance. It has served as dominant policy narrative with many governments in Africa embracing it as the way forward. It still has its supporters but the interesting thing about Africa today is that cracks are emerging in this intellectual edifice, thus rendering the narrative less compelling and less attractive.
Social Media Dynamics as A New Factor in African Politics
Authors: Czerep Jędrzej
Published: May 2021

In the last years, the African political landscape has become increasingly influenced by the effects of the introduction of social media as a major channel for political debate. Apart from democratising the discourse, it has contributed massively to the spread of rumour, hate speech and disinformation, which had significant real-life effects on the ground.
Janus-Faced Paradigms
Authors: Gúti Erika , T. Horváth Attila
Published: May 2021

The paper examines the parallel existence of the global paradigm ‘linguistic imperialism’ and the linguistic/cultural paradigm in the African language system, which in their own right can have positive or negative effects, too. The other question that the paper looks at is the role of the great African lingua francas (e.g., Swahili) in this system.
Snapshots About East Africa’s Education System
Authors: Hideg Gabriella
Published: May 2021

This paper focuses on the East African country, Kenya, and its education system, which is exotic from the Hungarian point of view.The aim of my study was to present the historical development of education in Kenya, and the odds and limits appearing within it, based on the available literature. It becomes visible that access to education is not given equally to everyone, regardless of which level of education we examine. This becomes really interesting and unique if we ask primary school students and college students about fair play and its content in such an imbalanced and even unequal system.As a test method, I used the analysis of literature and a questionnaire survey, which was based on a random sampling method. The questionnaire contains 17 questions including 15 closed and 2 open questions. Questions covers the content of fair play, interest in sport, and in addition to these, the responses about behaving in different competitive situations and judging actions as well. The data obtained were summarized with simple mathematical and statistical methods.As an expected result, we get closer to a foreign, unknown country in an educational/ historical and pedagogical point of view. The results of the questionnaire survey, which measure the segments of the two different levels of the Kenyan education system, show the opinion of students about fair play.
Partnership values: An evaluation of student-staff research projects at a UK higher education institution
Authors: Ali Xeina , Tatam James , Gravett Karen , Kinchin Ian M.
Published: May 2021

This research study contributes to understandings of partnership approaches through an evaluation of a number of student-staff research partnership projects that took place across one higher education institution. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with both the staff and students involved in the twenty research projects, our data were analysed to surface the underpinning values that informed the partnership process. As a result, this article offers an opportunity to evaluate partnership projects in context, as well as to explore how partnership may serve as a disruptive force in higher education. We conclude with a consideration of how investigating the ways in which students and staff conceptualise student-staff partnership can be valuable, and with recommendations for others considering similar partnership projects.
The important risk-taking of advocating for student partnership practice
Authors: Brennan Aimie
Published: May 2021

This opinion piece is a call to action for all higher education teachers engaged in partnership practice to consider themselves advocates, reluctant or willing, for a partnership approach in higher education, reluctant or willing. By sharing my lived experience of partnership, I highlight some of the considerations facing teachers who are resisting the ‘how we do things’ pressures that reproduce existing learner-teacher power structures and cause tensions between colleagues. However, I argue that without teachers as drivers, partnership practice will remain an idealist goal experienced by few.
Exploring the potential of ingestive behaviour, body measurements, thermal imaging, heart rate and blood pressure to predict dry matter intake in grazing dairy cows
Authors: Lahart B. , Kennedy E. , Williams M. , Liddane M. , Boland T.M. , O’Sullivan K. , Buckley F.
Published: May 2021

The objective of this study was to develop and validate models to predict dry matter intake (DMI) of grazing dairy cows using animal energy sinks and status traits in combination with traits related to grazing behaviour, body measurements, thermal imaging, heart rate and blood pressure. The dataset used to develop the models comprised 33 measurements from 113 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. Multivariable regression models were constructed incorporating each independent variable into a benchmark model incorporating the energy sinks (milk yield [MY], fat %, protein % and body weight [BW]) and status traits (feeding treatment, parity and calving day of year). Of the 33 variables tested, 10 showed an association with DMI (P < 0.25). These variables were incorporated into a backward linear regression model. Variables were retained in this model if P < 0.05. Grazing bout duration and rumination mastication rate were retained in the final model. The inclusion of these variables in the model increased DMI prediction by 0.01 (coefficient of determination [R2] = 0.85) compared to the benchmark model alone (R2 = 0.84). The models were applied to data recorded on an independent herd of 51 dairy cows. The R2 upon validation was 0.80 for the benchmark model and 0.79 for the model incorporating rumination mastication rate and grazing bout duration in combination with the benchmark variables. The separation of grazing bout duration and rumination mastication rate to predict DMI revealed rumination mastication rate slightly increases predictive accuracy upon external validation (R2 = 0.81), whereas grazing bout duration did not (R2 = 0.78). This suggests that grazing bout duration is not a robust trait for DMI prediction. Results from this study suggest that rumination mastication rate can slightly increase the accuracy of DMI prediction surpassing known energy sinks and status traits.
Chicken Politics
Authors: Bruckert Michaël
Published: May 2021

Some scholars contend that the Global South is experiencing a consumer-driven nutrition transition characterized by a sharp increase in meat consumption. This article engages critically with this hypothesis by exploring the production, distribution, and consumption of chicken in Tamil Nadu (South India). Using the analytical lens of political ecology, it argues that food circuits are shaped in the interaction among political-economic processes, biophysical processes, and embodied encounters with food. In India, intensified farming and agrifood industrial capitalism affect the materialities of, and the meanings attributed to, chicken meat, making it more available, more accessible, and more desirable. The industry strives to control and conceal the animality and organicity of chicken as animal and as food. Yet new materialities and meanings are resisted by the biophysical processes that pervade the circuits of meat provision and by eaters’ visceral and cognitive engagement with chicken meat. The very people who produce, sell, buy, cook, and ingest food, even though they are partly dispossessed by capitalist and state control over knowledge and economic processes, also play a role in shaping, negotiating, and resisting the material, political, and emotional dimensions of taste, and of eating practices at large.
Pseudohyperkalaemia in essential thrombocytosis: an important clinical reminder
Authors: Mizzi Jean Marc , Rizzo Christopher , Fava Stephen
Published: May 2021

An 82-year-old female was admitted to a general hospital due to progressive bilateral lower limb weakness. A T8–T9 extramedullary meningioma was diagnosed by MRI, and the patient was referred for excision of the tumour. During the patient’s admission, she was noted to have persistent hyperkalaemia which was refractory to treatment. Following a review by an endocrinology team, a diagnosis of pseudohyperkalaemia secondary to thrombocytosis was made. This case demonstrates the importance of promptly identifying patients who are susceptible to pseudohyperkalaemia, in order to prevent its potentially serious consequences.

Learning points

Pseudohyperkalaemia should be considered in patients with unexplained or asymptomatic hyperkalaemia. It should also be considered in those patients who are resistant to the classical treatment of hyperkalaemia.

A diagnosis of pseudohyperkalaemia is considered when there is a difference of >0.4 mmol/L of potassium between serum and plasma potassium in the absence of symptoms and ECG changes.

In patients who are presenting with consistently elevated serum potassium levels, it may be beneficial to take venous blood gas and/ or plasma potassium levels to rule out pseudohyperkalaemia.

Pseudohyperkalaemia may subject patients to iatrogenic hypokalaemia which can be potentially fatal.

Pseudohyperkalaemia can occur secondary to thrombocytosis, red cell haemolysis due to improper blood letting techniques, leukaemia and lymphoma.
Overexpression of miR-7977 in CD4+ T cells is associated with multiplex autoimmunity in patients with Addison’s disease
Authors: Fichna Marta , Żurawek Magdalena , P Fichna Jakub , Ruchała Marek
Published: May 2021

Objective

Autoimmune Addison’s disease (AD) results from a combination of the genetic predisposition, unclear environmental triggers and ensuing immune dysfunction. MicroRNA molecules (miRNAs) are involved in post-transcriptional regulation of numerous target genes, hence may affect the immune function and promote autoimmunity. A deregulated miRNAs profile was reported in several autoimmune conditions. Our study was aimed at a global analysis of miRNA expression in CD4+ T cells from patients with AD.

Methods

CD4+ T cells were separated from peripheral blood, total RNA enriched in miRNAs extracted, and miRNA expression determined by small RNA sequencing. Global miRNA was investigated in 11 AD subjects and 9 age-matched healthy controls, with subsequent validation of the differentially expressed miRNAs by RT-qPCR in 29 patients and 28 controls.

Results

The analysis revealed upregulation of 9 miRNAs and downregulation of miR-509-3p in CD4+ T cells from patients with AD (cut-off fold change (FC) >2, Benjamini–Hochberg P  < 0.05). RT-qPCR validation confirmed overexpression of miR-7977 (P < 0.0001, FC = 2.7), miR-374a-5p and miR-1260b (P < 0.05, FC = 1.3 and 1.2, respectively). miR-7977 was upregulated in patients with coexisting autoimmune conditions vs those with isolated AD (P = 0.005, mean FC = 2.2). Moreover, miR-7977 abundance appeared correlated with the number of autoimmune comorbidities (P <0.0001, r = 0.736) and serum autoantibodies against thyroid peroxidase (P < 0.001, r = 0.588).

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates upregulated expression of miR-7977 in CD4+ T cells from patients with AD, especially with its polyendocrine form. Further analyses are warranted to replicate our results, establish the marker utility of miR-7977, and elucidate its functional role in autoimmunity.
Enterprise Research and Development Activity in Poland in Comparison to Eurozone Countries
Authors: Gostkowska-Drzewicka Magdalena , Majerowska Ewa
Published: May 2021

During the years 2000-2018, the number of enterprises conducting research and development activity in Poland was increasing systematically, thus the expenditures on research and development were increasing as well. The impact of R&D activity on the level of innovation of both enterprises and entire economies is related to objective and subjective structure of these expenditures which means that is not connected only with the value of the expenditures for its financing. The purpose of this paper is to present the level of expenditures on R&D in the business enterprise sector in Poland, in comparison to Eurozone countries and to analyze the convergence of value of these expenditures in Poland. The authors of the article used description and analysis of the statistical data obtained from the EUROSTAT and the GUS (General Statistical Office in Poland) statistics and estimation of econometric models and testing the occurrence of sigma and beta convergence. Based on the results we state that the key issue is to further activate Polish enterprises within the sphere of research and development, because Poland, in comparison with Eurozone countries, ranks within the group of countries with low expenditures on research and development and with structures characteristic of less prosperous economies. The study allowed determination of occurrence of sigma and beta convergence in Poland, in comparison with the Eurozone countries.
The modified spectral deterministic method applied to fixed–source discrete ordinates problems in X,Y–geometry
Authors: Curbelo Jesús Pérez , Libotte Rafael Barbosa , Oliva Amaury Muñoz , Barros Ricardo Carvalho , Alves Filho Hermes
Published: May 2021

A new approach for the application of the coarse–mesh Modified Spectral Deterministic method to numerically solve the two–dimensional neutron transport equation in the discrete ordinates (Sn) formulation is presented in this work. The method is based on within node general solution of the conventional one–dimensional Sn transverse integrated equations considering constant approximations for the transverse leakage terms and obtaining the Sn spatial balance equations. The discretized equations are solved by using a modified Source Iteration scheme without additional approximations since the average angular fluxes are computed analytically in each iteration. The numerical algorithm of the method presented here is algebraically simpler than other spectral nodal methods in the literature for the type of problems we have considered. Numerical results to two typical model problems are presented to test the accuracy of the offered method.