bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Interdisciplinary Guided Inquiry on Estuarine Transport Using a Computer Model in High School Classrooms
Authors: Chan Kit Yu Karen , Yang Sylvia , Maliska Max E. , Grünbaum Daniel
Published: December 2011

The National Science Education Standards have highlighted the importance of active learning and reflection for contemporary scientific methods in K–12 classrooms, including the use of models. Computer modeling and visualization are tools that researchers employ in their scientific inquiry process, and often computer models are used in collaborative projects across disciplines. The goal of this project was to develop and field-test a module that used a computer model to teach marine sciences content in an applied, inquiry-based, and collaborative manner. Students used an estuarine transport model to explore the question of how circulation patterns affect planktonic organisms, demonstrating the interdisciplinary interaction of physics and biology. Our experience suggests that computer models, when used for inquiry, can help foster students' understanding of the nature of science and critical-thinking skills.
What's Happening with Child Pornography Sentencing?
Authors: Exum Jelani Jefferson
Published: December 2011

Guest editor Jelani Jefferson Exum introduces this issue of Federal Sentencing Reporter, which focuses on federal child pornography sentencing. Acknowledging the timeliness of discussing the current state of and future possibilities for child pornography sentencing, the editors of Federal Sentencing Reporter recruited submissions from those working on and thinking about this particular sentencing topic. This issue of FSR contains commentary that engages in many different angles of the child pornography sentencing debate—from the demographic of offenders, to the judicial approach to sentencing, to specifics about the Guidelines, and even to post-release issues—and covers the many problematic aspects of child pornography sentencing. Readers not only will be informed about the particularities of the sentencing process for these offenses but also will be invited to ponder (and perhaps question) the possible consequences and effects of the current posture of sentencing federal child pornography offenses.
Child Pornography and Community Notification: How an Attempt to Reduce Crime Can Achieve the Opposite
Authors: Prescott J.J.
Published: December 2011

Community notification laws may make sense in the context of traditional sex offenses and sex offenders. But child pornography crimes and the individuals who commit them are different, and they differ from archetypal sex crimes and criminals in ways that may unintentionally cause community notification laws to facilitate—rather than inhibit—crime. Child porn offenses typically involve money or trade, and their commission hinges on successfully conspiring with others. As a result, announcing the identity of past offenders may perversely make child pornography and its associated harms more, not less, of a problem. Shrinking the child porn market and its associated abuse of minors may be easier if the law subjects fewer child porn offenders to community notification requirements. For the same reason, when sentencing child porn distributors and possessors, judges should not assume that community notification can provide an effective substitute for the incapacitation benefits typically associated with incarceration.
Conforto térmico de búfalas em sistema silvipastoril na Amazônia Oriental
Authors: Silva Jamile Andréa Rodrigues da , Araújo Airton Alencar de , Lourenço Júnior José de Brito , Santos Núbia de Fátima Alves dos , Garcia Alexandre Rossetto , Nahúm Benjamim de Souza
Published: December 2011

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de um sistema silvipastoril no conforto térmico de 20 búfalas Murrah, das quais 10 criadas em piquetes sem sombra (SS) e 10 com sombreamento (CS) de Racosperma mangium, em Belém, PA. Os animais foram alimentados em pasto, com Urochloa humidicola, com acesso livre à água para beber e sal mineral. A cada três dias, foram mensuradas: temperatura do ar (TA), umidade relativa do ar (UR), temperatura de globo negro (TGN), temperatura retal (TR), frequências respiratória (FR) e cardíaca (FC), e a temperatura da superfície corporal (TSC), pela manhã (7h) e à tarde (13h). Os valores de TR, TSC, FR e FC foram maiores à tarde, especialmente no grupo SS. Mais altas no período menos chuvoso, a TR, TSC e FR apresentaram correlação linear positiva com a TA e o índice de temperatura e umidade (ITGU) e negativa com a UR. Tanto na estação mais chuvosa quanto na menos chuvosa, a FC apresentou correlações significativas positivas com a TA e ITGU e negativas com a UR, apenas no período mais chuvoso. A arborização da pastagem é eficiente para melhorar o conforto térmico das búfalas Murrah, principalmente à tarde.
Detecção dos genes de Staphylococcus aureus, enterotoxinas e de resistência à meticilina em leite
Authors: Dias N.L. , Silva D.C.B. , Oliveira D.C.B.S. , Fonseca Junior A.A. , Sales M.L. , Silva N.
Published: December 2011

Realizou-se a detecção do gene de Staphylococcus aureus, de enterotoxinas e de resistência à meticilina com extração de DNA feita diretamente de amostras de leite. Das 200 amostras estudadas, 145 (72,5%) amplificaram o gene femA, e estas foram analisadas quanto à presença dos genes sea, seb, sec e mecA. Os genes das enterotoxinas mais prevalentes foram: sea (60%), seb (37,9%) e sec (6,9%). Foram encontradas 18 amostras de leite (11,0 %) com S. aureus portadores do gene mecA. A detecção de S. aureus diretamente do leite, sem a necessidade de isolamento bacteriano e a caracterização do potencial enterotoxigênico, demonstra que a técnica de PCR é muito útil para estudos epidemiológicos das infecções estafilocócicas da glândula mamária. O alto percentual (72,5%) de amostras de leite positivas para a presença do gene femA sugere que S. aureus constitui um dos principais agentes causadores de infecções intramamárias na microrregião de Sete Lagoas-MG e que seu potencial enterotoxigênico e presença do gene mecA, que identifica o S. aureus resistente à meticlina, representa um risco potencial à saúde pública.
Detection of cheese whey in raw milk preserved with bronopol® through high performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Lasmar M.M. , Leite M.O. , Fonseca L.M. , Souza M.R. , Cerqueira M.M.O.P. , Penna C.F.A.M. , Couto C.N.B. , Ferreira J.M.
Published: December 2011

High performance liquid chromatography was used in order to detect cheese whey in samples of raw milk preserved with Bronopol®. Six samples were collected and divided in 45 aliquots of 40mL. From these, 15 were used as control and stored frozen, 15 were added with Bronopol® and stored at 7ºC, and the other 15 were added with Bronopol® and stored at 30ºC. In all groups, five levels of cheese whey addition (0, 2, 5, 10, and 20%) were tested. The samples were submitted to high performance liquid chromatography on the 2nd, 4th, and 8th days of storage. A completely random design was used, following the factorial scheme (5x3x3) and the results were compared through the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. There was no difference among the treatments (P>0.05), which allows the conclusion that raw milk preserved with Bronopol® may be used for the determination of cheese whey addition in milk through high performance liquid chromatography.
Utilização de Lactobacillus acidophilus e de acidificação direta na fabricação de queijo de minas frescal
Authors: Alves C.C.C. , Gemal N.D.H. , Cortez M.A.S. , Franco R.M. , Mano S.B.
Published: December 2011

Três procedimentos foram adotados na elaboração de queijo de minas frescal: fabricação tradicional, com adição de ácido lático e com Lactobacillus acidophilus. As amostras dos queijos foram analisadas quanto à composição e, durante o período de estocagem de 30 dias, quanto à acidez - pH e acidez titulável - e contagem de L. acidophilus. A análise sensorial foi realizada por métodos sensoriais afetivos. A composição dos queijos nos diferentes procedimentos apresentou-se de acordo com os padrões esperados, com exceção do teor de gordura, que foi maior no queijo com adição de ácido lático. Durante a armazenagem, ocorreu aumento da acidez titulável em todos os procedimentos. A contagem de L. acidophilus foi acima de 10(8)UFC/g, caracterizando populações suficientes para classificar o queijo como alimento probiótico. Na análise sensorial, o de queijo de minas com a adição do probiótico foi o preferido pelos julgadores. O queijo de minas frescal foi apropriado para incorporação do probiótico, e o uso de L. acidophilus melhorou a qualidade sensorial e não alterou os parâmetros físico-químicos.
O enfoque de análise de políticas e a política pública do pólo e parque de alta tecnologia de Campinas
Authors: Silva Rogério Bezerra da , Dagnino Renato
Published: December 2011

O artigo analisa a política pública do Pólo e Parque de Alta Tecnologia de Campinas (PATC) que, como uma das orientações da política científica e tecnológica brasileira, vem sendo elaboradas nas três últimas décadas. Para isso, utiliza o Enfoque de Análise de Políticas (EAn), que não exige apenas a comparação entre os objetivos da política e os resultados logrados com sua implementação. Ele busca explicar as falhas na consecução dos objetivos a partir do exame do seu momento de formulação. Isto é, do processo decisório e dos projetos políticos e dos modelos cognitivos dos atores com ela envolvidos. A análise realizada aponta que após três décadas do início dessa Política Pública os seus resultados têm sido bastante modestos. A explicação disso pode estar no fato dela ter sido uma emulação de experiências similares ocorridas em países de capitalismo avançado por iniciativa de integrantes da comunidade de pesquisa nacional.
Promoção da saúde e ações fonoaudiológicas em educacão infantil
Authors: Mendonça Júlia Escalda , Lemos Stela Maris Aguiar
Published: December 2011

OBJETIVOS: verificar o conhecimento de educadores de uma unidade de educação infantil de Belo Horizonte a respeito do desenvolvimento da comunicação humana e seus distúrbios em crianças e as suas concepções sobre a atuação fonoaudiológica nessas instituições MÉTODO: estudo transversal desenvolvido em três etapas: Diagnóstico Institucional; Aplicação de formulário para caracterização do conhecimento das educadoras a respeito do desenvolvimento e distúrbios da comunicação humana; Planejamento e realização de oficinas. A análise da relação entre variáveis foi realizada utilizando o Teste Exato de Fisher, considerando o nível de significância de 5% no programa estatístico Epi Info 2000, versão 3.2.2. RESULTADOS: a maioria das educadoras respondeu corretamente às questões relacionadas ao uso e à compreensão da linguagem pela criança e às atitudes adequadas para a comunicação entre adultos e crianças. 66,7% acertaram as questões a respeito dos marcos do desenvolvimento de linguagem e 58,3% responderam incorretamente à questão relativa ao processamento auditivo. Foram realizadas 17 oficinas com os temas "Processamento Auditivo" e "Saúde Vocal", nas 8 salas que participaram da atividade 172 alunos na faixa etária de 3 a 6 anos, 8 professoras e 4 estagiárias. CONCLUSÕES: as educadoras demonstraram conhecimentos acerca da aquisição e desenvolvimento de linguagem, dos distúrbios da comunicação humana, e da atuação do fonoaudiólogo, principalmente na perspectiva clínica e preventiva. As oficinas realizadas propiciaram a discussão da importância do desenvolvimento de ações de prevenção e promoção da saúde em Fonoaudiologia.
The spatial distribution of Hymenoptera parasitoids in a forest reserve in Central Amazonia, Manaus, AM, Brazil
Authors: Querino RB. , Couceiro SRM. , Queiroz LO. , Penteado-Dias AM.
Published: December 2011

Parasitoids are of great importance to forest ecosystems due to their ecological role in the regulation of the population of other insects. The species richness and abundance of parasitoids in the forest canopy and understory, both on the borders and in the interior of a tropical forest reserve in Central Amazonia were investigated. For a 12-month period, specimen collections were made every 15 days from suspended traps placed in the forest canopy and in the understory strata, both on the border and in the interior of forest areas. A total of 12,835 Hymenoptera parasitoids from 23 families were acquired. Braconidae, Diapriidae, Mymaridae, Eulophidae, and Scelionidae were the most represented in the area and strata samples. The results indicate that there were no significant differences in the species richness or abundance of Hymenoptera between the forest borders and the inner forest. The data does show that the presence of Hymenoptera is significantly greater in the understory in both the border and interior areas than in the canopy (vertical stratification). Aphelinidae and Ceraphronidae were significantly associated with the inner forest, while the other seven families with the border of the reserve. The abundance of Hymenoptera parasitoids presented seasonal variations during the year related to the rainy and dry seasons.
Examining Local Transferability of Predictive Species Distribution Models for Invasive Plants: An Example with Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica)
Authors: Ervin Gary N. , Holly D. Christopher
Published: December 2011

Species distribution modeling is a tool that is gaining widespread use in the projection of future distributions of invasive species and has important potential as a tool for monitoring invasive species spread. However, the transferability of models from one area to another has been inadequately investigated. This study aimed to determine the degree to which species distribution models (SDMs) for cogongrass, developed with distribution data from Mississippi (USA), could be applied to a similar area in neighboring Alabama. Cogongrass distribution data collected in Mississippi were used to train an SDM that was then tested for accuracy and transferability with cogongrass distribution data collected by a forest management company in Alabama. Analyses indicated the SDM had a relatively high predictive ability within the region of the training data but had poor transferability to the Alabama data. Analysis of the Alabama data, via independent SDM development, indicated that predicted cogongrass distribution in Alabama was more strongly correlated with soil variables than was the case in Mississippi, where the SDM was most strongly correlated with tree canopy cover. Results suggest that model transferability is influenced strongly by (1) data collection methods, (2) landscape context of the survey data, and (3) variations in qualitative aspects of environmental data used in model development.
Herbicides and Mowing to Control Barb Goatgrass (Aegilops triuncialis) and Restore Native Plants in Serpentine Grasslands
Authors: Aigner Paul A. , Woerly Rhett J.
Published: December 2011

Serpentine grasslands are relatively free of the invasive species that typify other California grasslands, but recently are threatened by the spread of barb goatgrass, a Eurasian annual that is unique in its tolerance of serpentine soils. We evaluated two graminicides (clethodim and fluazifop), one broad-spectrum herbicide (glyphosate), mowing, and hand pulling for their effectiveness in controlling barb goatgrass and for restoring native species cover and diversity. We also evaluated application timing for the graminicides: before goatgrass flowering (early season), at flower initiation (midseason), and at early seed development (late season). Glyphosate was applied at early seed development. The 10 treatment combinations were applied to 10 blocks of 4-m2(43-ft2) experimental plots in an inner Coast Range serpentine grassland with high cover of barb goatgrass but few other nonnative species. After 2 yr of treatment, all treatments except glyphosate reduced goatgrass frequency. Hand pulling, fluazifop, and mowing were most effective at controlling goatgrass, reducing frequency by 60, 51, and 48%, respectively (compared to a 30% increase on control plots). Midseason applications of clethodim and fluazifop were more effective than those applied early or late. Hand pulling, fluazifop, and clethodim increased native forb frequency by 31, 46, and 74%, respectively, with the benefit of the graminicides decreasing with later applications. Native grasses were at least partially resistant to the graminicides. Cover of one sided blue grass (Poa secunda), the most widespread native grass, might have been reduced slightly by early-season applications but was increased by late-season applications. Cover of soft brome (Bromus hordeaceus), the only other widespread nonnative species in the study, was reduced by early-season applications of the graminicides. Clethodim and fluazifop show great potential to selectively remove barb goatgrass and other nonnative annual grasses in grasslands that are otherwise dominated by native grasses and forbs. Mowing is a less selective, but viable alternative.
Average Cost per Person Victimized by an Intimate Partner of the Opposite Gender: A Comparison of Men and Women
Authors: Arias Ileana , Corso Phaedra
Published: December 2011

Differences in prevalence, injury, and utilization of services between female and male victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) have been noted. However, there are no studies indicating approximate costs of men’s IPV victimization. This study explored gender differences in service utilization for physical IPV injuries and average cost per person victimized by an intimate partner of the opposite gender. Significantly more women than men reported physical IPV victimization and related injuries. A greater proportion of women than men reported seeking mental health services and reported more visits on average in response to physical IPV victimization. Women were more likely than men to report using emergency department, inpatient hospital, and physician services, and were more likely than men to take time off from work and from childcare or household duties because of their injuries. The total average per person cost for women experiencing at least one physical IPV victimization was more than twice the average per person cost for men.
The Dynamic Nature of the Drug Use/Serious Violence Relationship: A Multi-Causal Approach
Authors: Kuhns Joseph B.
Published: December 2011

Relying on historical research, a longitudinal data set, and multivariate analyses, the drug-violence relationship is scrutinized. A proposed model is tested and supported, indicating that attitudes toward violence, gender, neighborhood problems, minor delinquency, and victimization were persistent correlates that must be considered within the drug-violence relationship. Parental attachment and importance, exposure to delinquent peers, and drug dealing were also important. Both licit and illicit drug use were significant within the models, although the relationship changed from year to year. In year 1, youth who used drugs reported more violence. In year 2, youth who were not using drugs reported more violence. Association with delinquent peers and initial involvement in drug dealing were likely explanations for this transition. Findings offer support for prevention efforts that disrupt drug markets and target male youth who are involved in crime and drugs, repeated1y victimized, associating with delinquent peers, and developing attitudes favorable toward the use of violence.
Prevalence and Correlates of Interpersonal Violence Victimization in a Junior Enlisted Navy Cohort
Authors: Cunradi Carol , Ames Genevieve , Moore Roland
Published: December 2011

This study assesses the prevalence and correlates of interpersonal violence victimization in a cohort of 493 male and 220 female junior Navy personnel who participated in a cross-sectional follow-up study on health-related behaviors. Survey data were obtained during 2000 about past-year prevalence of physical violence and sexual victimization. Chi-square tests of independence and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to estimate prevalence rates and to assess correlates of interpersonal violence. No gender differences were found for rates of violence victimization (16.4%) or sexual victimization (4.5%). Significant correlates of interpersonal violence victimization among males were depression and tobacco use; among females, significant correlates were depression and frequent heavy drinking. Findings suggest that large numbers of young enlisted adults serving in the military may be victims of interpersonal violence.
Reassessing Who Contributed Most to the Decline in Violence During the 1990s: A Reminder That Size Does Matter
Authors: Rennison Callie Marie , Planty Mike
Published: December 2011

Descriptions of the 1990s crime drop point to the importance of declines in firearm violence among young, Black, urban males. This extant research is valuable but incomplete in terms of the crimes considered and the degree of disaggregation considered. This study complements current work on fatal violence by providing a comprehensive description of nonfatal violence trends using highly disaggregated data from the National Crime Victimization Survey. Through disaggregation we describe how the risk for nonlethal serious violence differs among a variety of victim populations, how these risks varied over time, and the contribution made by each group to the overall decline in crime. We also examine how firearm violence, and violence by a variety of victim/offender categories contributed to the aggregate drop in nonfatal serious violence.
Intimate Partner Violence, Women, and Work: Coping on the Job
Authors: Swanberg Jennifer E. , Macke Caroline , Logan TK
Published: December 2011

Intimate partner violence is a significant health problem for women, with consequences extending to work as well as society at large. This article describes workplace interference tactics, how women cope with violence at work, and workplace supports for a sample of recently employed women with domestic violence orders (DVO; n = 518). Results indicate that violent partners used a wide range of work interference tactics, that women were more likely to tell someone at work about the victimization than they were to hide the information, and that coworkers and supervisors provided a range of supports to women who did disclose their situation. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.
An Examination of Sheltered Battered Women’s Perpetration of Stalking and Other Unwanted Pursuit Behaviors
Authors: Langhinrichsen-Rohling Jennifer
Published: December 2011

In the current study, sheltered battered women (n = 105) self-reported whether they had perpetrated stalking or other unwanted pursuit behaviors (e.g., harassment, threat) during relationship separations from their abuser. Results indicated that sheltered battered women who admitted perpetrating stalking behavior (about 25% of the sample) had more self-blame, depression, and a greater tendency to leave the shelter within the first week (45%) than did battered women who did not report perpetrating stalking behaviors. The majority of battered women who reported perpetrating stalking behavior also reported being victimized by stalking behaviors (bidirectional stalking). Although these women reported similarly high levels of fear toward their abuser as did unidirectionally stalked women, bidirectionally stalking women were less likely to perceive that their abuser was using his violence to obtain control over them and were more depressed and self-blaming. Directions for future research, recommendations for shelter staff, and the potential treatment implications of these findings are discussed.
Trends in the Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence: A Cohort Analysis
Authors: Casey Erin A. , Nurius Paula S.
Published: December 2011

Although recent statistics hint that rates of reported rape and child sexual abuse began to decline in the 1990s, little is known about changes in the characteristics of victimizations over time or about the implications of these changes for policy and services. This investigation uses data from a general population survey to examine sexual assault trends in two ways: by age cohort and by historical era in which a first sexual assault experience occurred. Findings suggest that the lifetime prevalence of sexual assault has not significantly changed across cohorts of women in their 20s to 50s. Characteristics of women’s experiences across cohorts may be shifting, however, with early childhood experiences of sexual victimization showing a slight decline, accompanied by increases in assault rates during adolescence. Additionally, although help-seeking among victims has increased, women’s perceptions of their community’s responsiveness have worsened slightly. Research and intervention implications are discussed.
Rape Acknowledgment and Postassault Experiences: How Acknowledgment Status Relates to Disclosure, Coping, Worldview, and Reactions Received From Others
Authors: Littleton Heather L. , Axsom Danny , Breitkopf Carmen Radecki , Berenson Abbey
Published: December 2011

Many rape victims are unacknowledged. These victims do not label their experience as rape; instead they give the experience a more benign label, such as a miscommunication. The current study examined the relationship between victims’ acknowledgment status and post-assault behaviors, moving beyond prior research. Analyses of covariance were conducted comparing the post-assault experiences of unacknowledged and acknowledged college rape victims (n = 256), controlling for differences in victims’ assault characteristics, multiple victimization, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Results supported that unacknowledged and acknowledged victims differed in their coping, disclosure, belief in justice, and receipt of egocentric reactions following disclosure. Implications for future work examining the dynamic interplay among assault characteristics, sexual scripts, acknowledgment status, and post-assault factors are discussed.
The changes of precipitation in Podgorica for period 1951-2010
Authors: Ducic Vladan , Buric Dragan , Lukovic Jelena , Stanojevic Gorica
Published: December 2011

The global warming and climate change are the actual and challenging topics.
Recently there is one question, frequently asked: whether today's climate is
changing? The studies of this issues are mainly related to the two the most
important climatic elements - air temperature and precipitation amounts. We
have done research about temperature variability for Montenegro and the main
aim of this paper is analysis precipitation changes for station Podgorica
(Montenegro) in the period of sistematic observation - are there changes, to
what extent and whether they are significant. According to the results,
acumulated precipitation do not show significant changes for annual and
seasonal values in the period 1951-2010. The interannual variations of the
precipitation (which are characterictic for this climate element) do not show
increases in recent times. The component trend shows some changes, but
statisticaly insignigficant. The previous results for precipitation
conditions in Podgorica are not in accordance with the concept of
Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which predicted a general
decerease in precipitation and increase variability on this area.
Scribbling Away the Ghosts: A Bakhtinian Interpretation of Preschool Writers and the Disruption of Developmental Discourses
Authors: Myers Casey Y. , Kroeger Janice
Published: December 2011

Using Mikhail Bakhtin's conceptions of dialogue, monologue, and chronotope, the authors ask readers to consider how different values and actions ultimately create the teaching and learning spaces in which children are recognized as literate. Using qualitative data that focus on the relational writing practices of two preschoolers, this ethnographic work explores how authoritative monologues of development and risk commonly structure our thinking about and interaction with young writers. The article offers an alternative interpretation of children as writers engaged within a relational and dialogic writing space, wherein dominant developmental beliefs are rejected and relationships between children and teachers are reinterpreted. The authors argue for the creation of dialogic classroom spaces that afford children opportunities for multiple possible futures as whole persons.
On Structure and Agency in Ethnographies of Education: Examples from This Special Issue and More Generally
Authors: Beach Dennis
Published: December 2011

The articles in this collection are about the development, possibility, exercise and possible frustration of human agency within educational exchanges. They are also all based on ethnography, which is now a common approach to educational research. Ethnography is not a seamless, neutral observational practice but is instead variable in relation to theoretical perspectives and methodological application. However, central to all approaches is an emphasis on an active and creative citizen and an assumption that there is a dialectical relationship between human social practices, human consciousness and social structures. The similarities and differences within education ethnography are apparent even in the articles present here and in the ways in which they depict, define and describe agency in this special issue.
Optimization-based approach to path planning for closed chain robot systems
Authors: Szynkiewicz Wojciech , Błaszczyk Jacek
Published: December 2011

Optimization-based approach to path planning for closed chain robot systems

An application of advanced optimization techniques to solve the path planning problem for closed chain robot systems is proposed. The approach to path planning is formulated as a "quasi-dynamic" NonLinear Programming (NLP) problem with equality and inequality constraints in terms of the joint variables. The essence of the method is to find joint paths which satisfy the given constraints and minimize the proposed performance index. For numerical solution of the NLP problem, the IPOPT solver is used, which implements a nonlinear primal-dual interior-point method, one of the leading techniques for large-scale nonlinear optimization.
Intelligent decision-making system for autonomous robots
Authors: Kowalczuk Zdzisław , Czubenko Michał
Published: December 2011

Intelligent decision-making system for autonomous robots

The paper gives an account of research results concerning a project on creating a fully autonomous robotic decision-making system, able to interact with its environment and based on a mathematical model of human cognitive-behavioural psychology, with some key elements of personality psychology included. The principal idea of the paper is focused on the concept of needs, with a certain instrumental role of emotions.
Estimation of feedwater heater parameters based on a grey-box approach
Authors: Barszcz Tomasz , Czop Piotr
Published: December 2011

Estimation of feedwater heater parameters based on a grey-box approach

The first-principle modeling of a feedwater heater operating in a coal-fired power unit is presented, along with a theoretical discussion concerning its structural simplifications, parameter estimation, and dynamical validation. The model is a part of the component library of modeling environments, called the Virtual Power Plant (VPP). The main purpose of the VPP is simulation of power generation installations intended for early warning diagnostic applications. The model was developed in the Matlab/Simulink package. There are two common problems associated with the modeling of dynamic systems. If an analytical model is chosen, it is very costly to determine all model parameters and that often prevents this approach from being used. If a data model is chosen, one does not have a clear interpretation of the model parameters. The paper uses the so-called grey-box approach, which combines first-principle and data-driven models. The model is represented by nonlinear state-space equations with geometrical and physical parameters deduced from the available documentation of a feedwater heater, as well as adjustable phenomenological parameters (i.e., heat transfer coefficients) that are estimated from measurement data. The paper presents the background of the method, its implementation in the Matlab/Simulink environment, the results of parameter estimation, and a discussion concerning the accuracy of the method.
Models With Varying Parameters as A Tool to Classify Polish Voivodships in 2002-2008
Authors: Batóg Barbara , Wawrzyniak Katarzyna
Published: December 2011

Models With Varying Parameters as A Tool to Classify Polish Voivodships in 2002-2008

One of the often used measures of economic development is gross domestic product per capita. In Poland the Main Statistical Office collects the data on this variable on several levels of aggregation. The paper shows the application of panel data models in order to classify Polish voivodships according to the level of economic development. As explained variable the regional GDP per capita was used and such variables as structure of employees, unemployment rate or retail sales per capita were the explaining variables. As a result the groups of voivodships with similar pattern of economic development were distinguished.
Polish Pension Funds Investment - is There A Place For Real Property in A Portfolio?
Authors: Zaleczna Magdalena , Wolski Rafał
Published: December 2011

Polish Pension Funds Investment - is There A Place For Real Property in A Portfolio?

The pension fund investments should be characterised by a long term, low risk and profitability, which implicates the necessity of portfolio diversification. In general, pension funds having regular long-term contributions should develop the long-term policy and its effects would be responsible for the economic position of their future beneficiaries. The ways of capital allocation are also critical in terms of the entire economy, as a constant flow of financial resources provided by pension funds stimulates the activity of its recipients. The typical assets in a pension fund's portfolio in the developed economy are stocks, bonds and real property owing to low (negative) correlation between these assets and their diversified potential. The legal investment limits imposed on the Polish pension funds exclude direct investment in real property, which is responsible - in the authors' opinion - for the lower level of diversification and hinders the risk reduction. The authors analyze the Polish pension fund portfolios focusing on risk and return levels. The aim of the study is to find the answer to the important question about the results of hypothetically added real property to the portfolios of pension funds.
Appropriation of Public Urban Space as an Effect of Privatisation and Globalisation
Authors: Mierzejewska Lidia
Published: December 2011

Appropriation of Public Urban Space as an Effect of Privatisation and Globalisation

The changes taking place in the public space of many cities of the world have been assessed as harmful. They are seen as resulting from modern processes shaping their spatial-functional structure. Among them are advancing privatisation, which leads to various forms of public space appropriation, and globalisation, which transforms the world from a world of cities and places into one of networks (especially the Internet and motorways). In Polish cities, however, the deterioration in the quality and accessibility of public spaces is due not only to the social awareness developing in the conditions of neoliberalism and a market economy, which puts private property above public to get over the experience of feasible socialism, but to some extent also to Polish legislation. The aim of this article is to present forms and ways of appropriation of public urban space in the conditions of privatisation and globalisation, as well as reasons why this development seems to intensify in the Polish conditions.
The Conception of Cultural Space Revitalization as a Way to Increase Downtown Attractiveness. A Case Study of Chosen Medium-Sized Towns in the Wielkopolska Region
Authors: Pazder Dominika
Published: December 2011

The Conception of Cultural Space Revitalization as a Way to Increase Downtown Attractiveness. A Case Study of Chosen Medium-Sized Towns in the Wielkopolska Region

This paper deals with chosen aspects of revitalization within the downtown area of Polish medium-sized towns. The author underlines the necessity of introducing a mixed-use offer in the city centre. Not only commerce and services, but also cultural functions and values should be promoted in the contemporary city centre. Therefore the idea is presented of turning the downtown public space into a single, homogeneous and integrated spatial-functional system. The system is to introduce cultural functions on the basis of so-called cultural space, which is defined here as a specific kind of public space of historical or cultural value, or that has the potential to develop this kind of new functions.
Development and Fabrication of TiO2 Tip Arrays for Gas Sensing
Authors: Hotový Ivan , Kostič Ivan , HAščík Štefan , ŘEháček Vlastimil , Liday Jozef , Sitter Helmut
Published: December 2011

Development and Fabrication of TiO2Tip Arrays for Gas Sensing

Titanium oxide thin films were deposited at room temperature by reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixture of oxygen and argon on oxidized silicon substrates. The optimal etching characteristics of TiO2films by reactive ion etching (RIE) and RIE with inductively coupled plasma source (ICP) were investigated. Patterning of TiO2tip arrays by electron beam lithography and dry etching were developed. Different spot sizes 200 and 500 nm in diameter and with spacing 500 and 1000 nm were investigated with regards to the minimal size and the pyramidal shape. Experimental results have shown that the exposure dose optimization wa a significant parameter for controlling the tip size and its shape. We successfully fabricated the pyramidal TiO2tip arrays over an 1 × 1 mm2area. The TiO2tip array can be expected to have an important application in gas microsensors.
The Development of Stereophonic Sound in Slovakia
Authors: Brezina Pavol
Published: December 2011

The Development of Stereophonic Sound in Slovakia

The development of stereophonic sound in Slovakia in the late sixties had a profound impact on the quality of recorded music in all areas of artificial and non-artificial music and it also played an important role in composing music for radio plays. However, the Czechoslovak Radio in Bratislava was at that time the only technically equipped institute in Slovakia where a stereophonic record could be created. Therefore our research studies have particularly been concerned with examining the archives of this institution as well as the valuable information on implementation of the recordings we have collected through interviews with the former staff of the broadcasting organization. Our research focuses for the first time on the period of the beginnings of stereophonic sound in Slovakia, hence the purpose of this article is to summarize the research results.
Embarking on large-scale qualitative research: reaping the benefits of mixed methods in studying youth, clubs and drugs
Authors: Hunt Geoffrey , Moloney Molly , Fazio Adam
Published: December 2011

Qualitative research is often conceptualized as inherently small-scale research, while larger-scale projects are often assumed to be solely the domain of quantitative researchers, The aim of this paper is to discuss qualitative research done on a comparatively larger scale. In addition to the centrality of a qualitative perspective, the research incorporates some quantitative elements into the design, data collection, and analysis. Larger-scale qualitative research shares some of the challenges and promises of smaller-scale qualitative work. However, there are additional challenges specific to the scale of qualitative research such as data overload, time constraints, and mentoring large research teams. Yet large samples can prove to be essential for enabling researchers to conduct comparative research, whether that be cross-national research or cross-cultural research.
Episodic or Novelistic? Law in the Atlantic and the Form of Daniel Defoe's Colonel Jack
Authors: Cervantes Gabriel
Published: December 2011

Like other fictions by Daniel Defoe, The History and Remarkable Life of the Truly Honourable Col. Jacque, Commonly Call'd Col. Jack, draws together various literary genres. Until recently, this heterogeneity has been studied through a mode of ideological critique that privileges novelistic coherence, and Colonel Jack has long been dismissed as an ideological and aesthetic failure. Taking a different approach, this article examines how Defoe's ostensibly broken novel uses a mixture of genres and analogous rather than progressive plot lines to capture and resolve a contemporary problem: the stretching of British legal authority from internal struggles (with criminals, slaves, and Jacobites) to the permeable interimperial boundaries of the Atlantic. Historicized in the development of the illicit trade between Britain and Spanish America, Colonel Jack's famously problematic conclusion—a remorseless smuggler's adventure—does not offer a negative example for mercantile morality, but rather serves to theorize a legal regime based on negotiation.
Draping Education to Promote Patient Dignity: Canadian Physiotherapy Student and Instructor Perceptions
Authors: Wilson Nicole , Hopkins-Rosseel Diana , Lusty Christopher , Averns Henry , Hopman Wilma
Published: December 2011

Purpose: To determine the perceptions of educators and students in Canadian entry-level professional physiotherapy programmes with respect to the current draping curriculum and the methods of delivery of that content and to determine if there is a need for additional draping education time and resources in these programmes. Methods: Canadian university physiotherapy students (n=127) and educators (n=183) completed questionnaires designed by the authors. Data were collected via Survey Monkey, exported as Excel files, and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson chi-square analysis. Results: Students and educators agreed that dignity as a concept and draping as a skill to protect patient dignity are both important and should be included in Canadian physiotherapy curricula. Respondents also agreed that students often have difficulty with draping. Educators identified barriers to teaching draping while students identified components of an effective educational resource on draping. Conclusions: To enhance the development of effective draping skills among entry-level physiotherapists, draping education should be included in Canadian physiotherapy curricula. An effective draping educational resource should be developed for educators and students.
A Note on Development of a Low-cost and High-throughput SSR-based Genotyping Method in Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
Authors: Fountain Jake , Qin Hongde , Chen Charles , Dang Phat , Wang Ming Li , Guo Baozhu
Published: December 2011

Peanut cultivar development has been dominated by conventional breeding methods, which have and will continue to play an important role. Applications of marker-assisted selection (MAS) have been used in peanut breeding selection but the cost of genotyping is still a considerable factor. The objective of this study was to introduce a simple, low-cost, and high-throughput protocol for peanut community. The developed system was based on a smaller (10.5 cm in length) polyacrylamide gel size system to separate PCR amplified DNA fragments and silver staining to visualize the bands. This system is very easy to operate, having one electrophoresis unit holds two vertical 52-sample gels, and the cost for purchasing the unit is less than $200. For instance, the electrophoresis runs about 1 hr and 40 min at 180 V for 9% polyacrylamide gel to separate small to medium sized DNA bands (< 500 bp) or 1 hr and 20 min at 160 V for 6% polyacrylamide gel preferably for larger band separation (≥ 500 bp), but the gel concentrations and running times could be adjusted according to the polymorphic banding patterns and sizes to mitigate the drawback of this system of small gel-size. The silver staining takes about 30 min. After staining, the gels are placed on a light-box for genotype scoring and then photographed using a digital camera. The cost per gel is estimated at $0.54 and the cost for silver staining is estimated at $0.37. Therefore, the cost could be as low as $0.018 per data point, excluding PCR reaction and DNA preparation cost. A scientist has the potential to generate over 1,200 data points per day. This method has been used in the construction of a peanut genetic linkage map and QTL studies in our laboratory in conjunction with other methods.
Effect Of Preserved Seeds Using Different Botanicals On Seed Quality Of Lentil
Authors: Khatun A , Kabir G , Bhuiyan MAH , Khanam D
Published: December 2011

Laboratory studies were conducted with leaf powder of three plants to show the preservative effect for maintaining the quality of lentil seeds in storage. After processing and drying, seeds were preserved with different botanicals and stored them in earthen pots for eight months. Botanicals, such as whole leaf powder of neem (Azadirachta indica), dholkalmi (Ipmoea sepiara), and bishkatali (Polygonum hydropiper) were used at a dose of 5% w/w (25 g botanical per 500 g of lentil seeds). The lentil seeds were stored till next planting time and seed quality, such as moisture content, germination capacity, root length, shoot length of the seedlings and vigour index were observed. The highest values for all these characters except moisture content were significant when the seeds were preserved with neem leaf powder and bishkatali. Among three botanicals, dholkalmi was less effective. Keywords: Lentil; botanicals; storage; seed quality DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v36i3.9266 BJAR 2011; 36(3): 381-387
Causes Of Yield Gaps And Strategies For Minimizing The Gaps In Different Crops Of Bangladesh
Authors: Mondal Mohammad H
Published: December 2011

The concept of yield gaps originated from the studies conducted by IRRI in the seventies. The yield gap discussed in this paper is the difference between the potential farm yield and the actual average farm yield. In Bangladesh, yield gaps exist in different crops ranging up to 60%. According to the recent study conducted by BRRI, the yield gap in rice was estimated at 1.74 t/ha. The existence of yield gaps was as well observed in rice, mustard, wheat and cotton in India. In India, yield gap varied from 15.5 to 60% with the national average gap of 52.3% in irrigated ecosystem. The yield gaps are mainly caused by biological, socio-economic, climate and institutional/policy related factors. Different strategies, such as integrated crop management (1CM) practices, timely supply of inputs including credit to farmers, research and extension collaboration to transfer the new technologies have been discussed as strategies to minimize yield gaps. Suggestions have been made to make credit available to resource-poor small farmers to buy necessary inputs. Reducing transaction cost, simplifying lending procedures and strengthening monitoring mechanism of the current credit system are, however, essential to enable the farmers to avail the credit facility. Efforts should be made to update farmers’ knowledge on the causes of yield gaps in crops and measures to narrow the gaps through training, demonstrations, field visits and monitoring by extension agencies to achieve high yield. The government should realize that yield gaps exist in different crops of Bangladesh and therefore, explore the scope to increase production as well as productivity of crops by narrowing the yield gap and thereby ensure food security. Keywords: Yield gaps; strategies; crops of Bangladesh. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v36i3.9274 BJAR 2011; 36(3): 469-476