bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effects of high salinity on nitrogen removal and the formation characteristics of aerobic granular sludge
Authors: Kim HyunGu , Ahn DaeHee
Published: March 2020

This study investigated the biological treatment of high-salinity wastewater using aerobic granular sludge (AGS). The removal performance, AGS characteristics, and microbial community were examined under salinity conditions ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 wt.%. When the salinity was increased, the removal efficiency of the chemical oxygen demand did not change substantially. The mean removal efficiency of NH4+-N ranged from 43.7 to 72.6% during the operation period. As for the concentration of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the polysaccharide/protein (PS/PN) ratio increased from 0.37 to 0.57. The concentrations of the mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS) and mixed liquor volatile suspended solid (MLVSS) were 4,560 and 3,170 mg/L, respectively, in the end phase, and the MLVSS/MLSS ratio decreased from 0.81 to 0.69. The sludge volume index (SVI30) decreased linearly from 88 to 58 mL/g. In the microbial community analysis, Nitrosomonas species accounted for 22.9% of the total bacteria in the initial phase, whereas Halomonas accounted for 43.2% in the end phase. Hence, the gradually increased salinity appears to facilitate the dominance of halophilic microorganisms in the long-term operation of an AGS-based biological treatment system and the stable retention of AGS.
Development of Bi-Langmuir model on the sorption of cadmium onto waste foundry sand: Effects of initial pH and temperature
Authors: Saad Noora , Abd Ali Ziad T. , Naji Laith A. , Faisal Ayad A.A.H. , Al-Ansari Nadhir
Published: March 2020

The present study develops the sorption model for simulating the effects of pH and temperature on the uptake of cadmium from contaminated water using waste foundry sand (WFS) by allowing the variation of the maximum adsorption capacity and affinity constant. The presence of two acidic functional groups with the same or different affinity is the basis in the derivation of the two models; Model 1 and Model 2 respectively. The developed Bi-Langmuir model with different affinity (Model 2) has a remarkable ability in the description of process under consideration with coefficient of determination > 0.9838 and sum of squared error < 0.08514. This result is proved by FTIR test where the weak acids responsible of cadmium ions removal using WFS sorbent can be represented by surface silanol (O-H) functional groups.
Geografías emocionales y paisajes de inmersión. Representaciones desde un uso disruptivo del trazo vectorial
Authors: Noguera Muntadas Montserrat
Published: March 2020

El artículo reflexiona y analiza la obra "Arbustos", un grupo de dibujos resultado de investigaciones gráficas fundamentadas en dinámicas de repetición como proceso creativo. Desde inquietudes hacia un uso transdisciplinar y disruptivo del trazo vector, y mediante una metodología basada en la no determinación, la exploración despierta representaciones paisajísticas; de ellas rebrotan geografías emocionales ante miradas no arquetípica del paisaje. Los dibujos imaginan paisajes de inmersión que evocan el sotobosque desde recuerdos y emociones de lugares vividos.
Occupation- and Activity-Based Interventions to Improve Performance of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and Rest and Sleep for Children and Youth Ages 5–21: A Systematic Review
Authors: Beisbier Stephanie , Laverdure Patricia
Published: March 2020

Importance: Practitioners seek evidence from intervention effectiveness studies to provide best-practice services for children.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of occupation- and activity-based interventions to improve instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and sleep outcomes for children and youth ages 5–21 yr.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, OTseeker, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Study Selection and Data Collection: The American Occupational Therapy Association research methodologist conducted the first review of literature published from 2000 to 2017. The results were exported, and we completed the subsequent stages of review. Only peer-reviewed Level I, II, and III evidence was reviewed. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and the Cochrane risk-of-bias guidelines were used to compile evidence and risk-of-bias tables.

Findings: We reviewed 96 articles; 28 studies met the inclusion criteria for IADL and rest–sleep outcomes. Analysis resulted in several themes: rest–sleep, health management (nutrition–dietary, physical activity–fitness, wellness), and the IADLs of driving, communication management, and safety. Strong evidence exists for interventions embedded in school programming to improve physical activity and fitness and for sleep preparation activities to maximize quality of rest and sleep. Moderate-strength evidence exists for interactive education and skills training interventions to improve health routines, dietary behaviors, and IADL participation and performance.

Conclusions and Relevance: Use of skills-focused training in activity- and occupation-based interventions was supported. Service provision in the context of natural environments, including school settings and with parental or caregiver participation, is recommended for children and youth ages 5–21 yr with varied abilities and diagnoses.

What This Article Adds: Occupational therapy practitioners can confidently examine their current practices and choose activity- and occupation-based interventions and methods of service delivery that are supported by evidence.
Revisiting global hydrological cycle: Is it intensifying?
Authors: Koutsoyiannis Demetris
Published: March 2020

Abstract. As a result of technological advances in monitoring atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere, as well as in data management and processing, several data bases have become freely available. These can be exploited in revisiting the global hydrological cycle with the aim, on the one hand, to better quantify it and, on the other hand, to test the established climatological hypotheses, according to which the hydrological cycle should be intensifying because of global warming. By processing the information from gridded ground observations, satellite data and reanalyses, it turns out that the established hypotheses are not confirmed. Instead of monotonic trends, there appear fluctuations from intensification to deintensification and vice versa, with deintensification prevailing in the 21st century. The water balance on land and sea appears to be lower than the standard figures of literature, but with greater variability on climatic time scales, which is in accordance with Hurst-Kolmogorov stochastic dynamics. The most obvious anthropogenic signal in the hydrological cycle appears to be the overexploitation of groundwater, which has a visible effect on sea level rise. Melting of glaciers has an equal effect, but in this case it in not known which part is anthropogenic, as studies on polar regions attribute mass loss mostly to ice dynamics.
Understanding dominant controls on streamflow spatial variability to set up a semi-distributed hydrological model: the case study of the Thur catchment
Authors: Dal Molin Marco , Schirmer Mario , Zappa Massimiliano , Fenicia Fabrizio
Published: March 2020

Abstract. This study documents the development of a semi-distributed hydrological
model aimed at reflecting the dominant controls on observed streamflow
spatial variability. The process is presented through the case study of the
Thur catchment (Switzerland, 1702 km2), an alpine and pre-alpine
catchment where streamflow (measured at 10 subcatchments) has different
spatial characteristics in terms of amounts, seasonal patterns, and dominance of baseflow. In order to appraise the dominant controls on
streamflow spatial variability and build a model that reflects them, we
follow a two-stage approach. In a first stage, we identify the main
climatic or landscape properties that control the spatial variability of
streamflow signatures. This stage is based on correlation analysis,
complemented by expert judgement to identify the most plausible cause–effect
relationships. In a second stage, the results of the previous analysis are
used to develop a set of model experiments aimed at determining an
appropriate model representation of the Thur catchment. These experiments
confirm that only a hydrological model that accounts for the heterogeneity
of precipitation, snow-related processes, and landscape features such as
geology produces hydrographs that have signatures similar to the observed
ones. This model provides consistent results in space–time validation,
which is promising for predictions in ungauged basins. The presented
methodology for model building can be transferred to other case studies,
since the data used in this work (meteorological variables, streamflow,
morphology, and geology maps) are available in numerous regions around the
globe.
Tide prediction machines at the Liverpool Tidal Institute
Authors: Woodworth Philip L.
Published: March 2020

Abstract. The 100th anniversary of the Liverpool Tidal Institute (LTI) was
celebrated during 2019. One aspect of tidal science for which the LTI
acquired a worldwide reputation was the development and use of tide
prediction machines (TPMs). The TPM was invented in the late 19th
century, but most of them were made in the first half of the 20th
century, up until the time that the advent of digital computers consigned
them to museums. This paper describes the basic principles of a TPM, reviews
how many were constructed around the world and discusses the method devised
by Arthur Doodson at the LTI for the determination of harmonic tidal
constants from tide gauge data. These constants were required in order to
set up the TPMs for predicting the heights and times of the tides. Although
only 3 of the 30-odd TPMs constructed were employed in operational tidal
prediction at the LTI, Doodson was responsible for the design and oversight
of the manufacture of several others. The paper demonstrates how the UK, and
the LTI and Doodson in particular, played a central role in this area of
tidal science.
Coppering the Industrial Revolution: History, Materiality and Culture in the Making of an Ecological Regime
Authors: Cunha Daniel
Published: March 2020

No copper, no Industrial Revolution. Although accountants listed it in the very last position in the table of “value added” per sector in 1831, the British copper industry was essential for the Industrial Revolution, the period of British hegemony over the world-economy. In this article, I use the figure-ground method proposed by Terence K. Hopkins to show that the copper industry played key roles in the ecological regime of the 1700-1840 period, due to its material properties and related historical contingencies and cultural valuations. By focusing in on particular production processes, historical contingencies, and cultural phenomena in which copper played an important and unique role, and then zooming out again to the world-economy as a whole, I show that an Industrial Revolution would not have happened without copper. From sugar production in the Caribbean to textile printing, from the slave trade to the Battle of Saintes, from the development of the steam engine to gin and rum production, from the telegraph to buckles and buttons, copper was conspicuous. This demonstrates the ecological regime of the period, in which the removal of a single commodity from the picture—i.e., copper—disrupts the whole constellation of relations. This study also shows that a “copper boom” immediately before and at the start of the Industrial Revolution (~1700-1800), instrumental in the British struggle against France for the hegemony over the world-economy, has been overlooked in the literature. Additionally, the article includes a reflection on method.
Research Note on Captive Atlantic Flows: Estimating Missing Data by Slave-Voyage Routes
Authors: Manning Patrick , Liu Yu
Published: March 2020

This essay provides new estimates of the number of captives carried in the Atlantic slave trade during each decade from the 1650s to the 1860s. It relies on two categories of known data—on the routes of voyages and the numbers of captives recorded on those voyages—as a basis for estimation of missing data and totals of captive flows. It uses techniques of Bayesian statistics to estimate missing data on routes and flows of captives. As a framework for the Bayesian estimates, it focuses on analysis of 40 distinct routes linking the African coast to the Americas and traces the captive flows—that is, the number of captives embarked on or disembarked from voyages along those routes. The dataset that provides the basis for this research note is available at: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/6HLXO3.
Transformation de l’autre exotique dans Les Indes galantes de Rameau et Fuzelier (1736), ou comment l’autre se construit sur la scène
Authors: Gallouët Catherine
Published: March 2020

Les Indes galantes signalent une évolution importante de la scène française qui dépasse de simples considérations esthétiques. Reproduisant un exotisme de convention, Rameau et Fuzelier introduisent de nouveaux accords et des audaces textuelles qui font de leur opéra-ballet un spectacle de forme hybride, dégagé de toute règle rigoureuse, à la limite, anti conformiste. Ainsi l’évocation des rivages lointains suggérés par le titre amène à la creation de nouvelles formes de la représentation de l’autre exotique.
The Impact of Youth Apprenticeship and Employability Skills Programs on Career & Technical Education Concentrator-Completer Post Graduation Outcomes
Authors: Mindham Joel , Schultz Deanna
Published: March 2020

Work-based learning is a key component of career and technical education programs. A variety of certificated and non-certificated work-based learning programs exist for high schools to implement. Wisconsin's Youth Apprenticeship program is a widely used model of work-based learning
in high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs across the state, yet there is limited research on the impact of these programs related to student outcomes.
 This paper describes the findings from a study in which educational and employment outcomes of secondary CTE
concentrator-completers participating in a Youth Apprenticeship and/or Employability Skills program were analyzed. Findings indicate that participating in a Youth Apprenticeship program while concentrating in a secondary CTE program of study may lead to a higher rate of continuing into one's
area of concentration after high school than students earning Wisconsin's Employability Skills Certificate.
Psychological Features of the Personality of Students of Different Specialties
Authors: Tarabrina Natalia , Grabovskaya Elena , Tikhonov Alexey , Kraev Yury
Published: March 2020

The objective of the article is the correspondence of individual and typological features of the student to the chosen direction, which promotes successful adaptation to study at the university and readiness for future professional activity. The aim is to reveal psychological features of personality of students: doctors, engineers, and jurists. Materials and methods are the following: 180 students of 1-3 year (17-25 years old): future doctors (n=80), jurists (n=50), and engineers (n=50). We studied the psychological characteristics of personality. The program «Mini-mult» of the medical diagnostic hardware and software complex «Biomysh Research» («Neurolab», Russia) was used. The statistical analysis was performed by parametric method using the Student's t-test.The results are the following: students of different specialties have intergroup and individual differences in neurodynamic and cognitive functions. The most significant difference was found on scales 1, 2, 6, 7 (р˂0.05-0.01). The personality pattern of students (future doctors and jurists) has a «peak», three-phase pattern, and no reliable differences between the contrasting ones. The average psychological profile of the personality of students, future engineers is «linear», all its indicators are between 45T and 55T. Such profile is found in persons referred to the concordant norm.Conclusions are the following: students of all studied groups are characterized by high openness and desire to present themselves in a more favorable light on indicators of three evaluation scales (L, F, K). The psychological profiles of doctors and jurists are similar. Contrasting «peaks» are on scales of hysteria, paranoia and schizoidity. It testifies to constant dissatisfaction and indomitable aspiration to the set goal. Determination, flexibility of behavior with low level of anxiety, and confidence in decision making are inherent in future doctors and jurists. Engineering students are confident, satisfied with themselves and their surroundings, sociable, optimistic, and cheerful. However, their level of anxiety is higher than the level of jurists. It is recommended to create a system of organizational and pedagogical conditions for the formation and development of «western components of professional mobility» for students of various specialties.
Motivators for Demotivators Affecting EFL Learners in Chinese Secondary Vocational School
Authors: Liu Chang
Published: March 2020

The study investigated secondary vocational school students’ motivational level to learn English and the demotivating factors perceived by them in the current school stage. To this end, questionnaires were administered to students in a national key secondary vocational school located in Shanxi, China and 62 valid questionnaires were collected. The results revealed that 75.8% of respondents had already been demotivated in English learning before the secondary vocational school, and the main causes were their dislike of teachers, too much homework and the lack of learning methods. However, there were not so many respondents thinking that they had been further demotivated in learning English in the current vocational school. Concerning the demotivators perceived by participants, the experience of failure was the most dominant whereas the teacher-related factors were the least significant, and the internal factors were more influential than the external ones in impairing participants’ learning enthusiasm. New demotivating factors like the perceived increasing roles of Chinese and failing to see the practical significance of English in future jobs and life were also found in this study. Based on the findings of demotivation peculiar to students at secondary vocational schools, the specific motivational strategies were also suggested.
Impact of Market Ratios on the Stock Prices: Evidence from Jordan
Authors: Al-Manaseer Sufian Radwan
Published: March 2020

This study aims to investigate the impact of market ratios on the stock prices of Jordanian industrial companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange for the period 2009-2018. The sample comprises 45 chosen from 56 industrial companies. Fixed effect regression analysis applied by using an e-views program. The study found an impact of the combined market ratios on the stock prices of Jordanian industrial companies. Also, the study found no impact of the dividend payout, the dividend yield, and the price-earnings ratios on the stock prices, whereas the earnings per share ratio impact the stock prices of Jordanian industrial companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange.
DOES PRACTICING SPORT PREDISPOSE TO WORK AS A MANAGER?
Authors: Metelski Adam
Published: March 2020

In the literature on the subject, there are presented at least several ways that physical activity can positively influence professional work. If one can develop leadership skills and improve teamwork by practicing sport, people who practice sport should be predisposed to work as managers. The purpose of the article is to determine whether people practicing sport in Poland more often work as managers. The research involved the use of the Social Diagnosis integrated database. As a result of the conducted analyses, it can be concluded that people practicing sport perform managerial functions more often than people not practicing sport
SELECTED ASPECTS OF INNOVATION IMPLEMENTATION IN HOTELS FROM OPOLE
Authors: Puciato Daniel , Pławiak Gracjana
Published: March 2020

The aim of the article is to assess the innovation of the Opole hotel market. The main research method was a diagnostic survey, a questionnaire technique. The research was carried out from April to May 2016. The research was carried out on owners or managers 12 out of 13 hotels located in Opole. Almost 70% of hotels located in Opole have implemented at least one innovation in the last year. The most commonly implemented type were marketing
innovations, and the most important source of their financing – own funds. The ability to anticipate changes in the environment, creativity, growing competition and changing preferences of guests are the most important factors stimulating the development of innovation in the Opole hotel market. The main obstacle to this development, however, was limited financial resources. Implemented innovations were usually a consequence of conducting
marketing research or generating ideas by employees. The respondents usually also highly rated the level of innovation of their hotels.
THE BUSINESS MODEL OF “INNOVATION BROKER” – THEORETICAL ASPECTS
Authors: Bielińska-Dusza Edyta
Published: March 2020

Technological development forces companies, economies, to actively participate in the process of creating and using knowledge. It results in continuous pursuit of new concepts, which allow better adjustment to new conditions. A growing role is played by innovation centers and business incubators. Business environment institutions, which support companies and enhance the flow of knowledge and technology between companies, scientific units, scientific-research institutions, public administration. We will find numerous
examples in the professional literature of the studies in the scope of the business model, assumtions of the system aspect, cooperation, networks, however, relatively little is devoted to this issue in relation to innovation brokers. In connection with the above, the purpose of this publication is to present theoretical indications regarding the business model of the “Innovation Broker” and to characterize the elements of this model.
WORK ORGANISATION EVALUATION IN HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS
Authors: Szajt Marek , Hampel Katarzyna
Published: March 2020

The objective of the paper was an assessment of particular work organization elements in healthcare institutions and a description of the research that has led to the formulation of conclusions. The research was conducted in non-public healthcare settings located in the area of Czestochowa in the group of 554 respondents – patients benefiting from the services rendered by health centres. The analysis of empirical data was conducted with the use of statistical methods, using STATISTICA software. The results demonstrate occurrences of significant differences in the evaluations, depending on demographic features of the respondents, such as: age, education and represented professional group.
A VISION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY OF EXTREMADURA (SPAIN)
Authors: Gallardo-Vázquez Dolores , de la Cruz Sánchez-Domínguez Juan
Published: March 2020

It is undoubtable that entrepreneurship is an element that creates employment in economies. It is starting to be one of the economic motors of Extremadura, a region that, without ceasing to have the primary sector as the base of its subsistence, has an increasing number of organizations that provide services. This paper discusses the current situation of entrepreneurship in Extremadura and the reasons that caused it, and it highlights the potential role of entrepreneurship as a mechanism for obtaining competitive advantage. We give some definitions proposed by literature, in order to clearly establish the topic which, we are going to study. At the same time, we position Extremadura both in Spanish and European contexts, highlighting the position of regional entrepreneurs’ governments to support the entrepreneurial activity because, on the long term, the results can be positive for the region and for the country.
THE OBJECTIVES, EFFECTS AND BARRIERS OF USER-DRIVEN INNOVATION IMPLEMENTATION IN R&D DEPARTMENTS OF SMES
Authors: Szopik-Depczyńska Katarzyna
Published: March 2020

One of the newest concepts of creating innovations is “user ‒ driven innovation” (UDI) – a concept that is based on “lead user” concept by E. von Hippel. The paper introduces the results of research carried out in nineteen R&D departments in Poland functioning within companies belonging to SMEs sector. The main purpose of the research was to find the basic goals of implementing UDI to R&D departments, as well as effects and barriers of those actions. The findings may be interesting to both scientific audience, as well as companies’ management who is concentrated to develop innovations that are based in R&D.
VIRTUAL FORMS OF PRMOTION IN COMPUTER GAMES. QUALITATIVE STUDY AMONGST POLISH USERS
Authors: Hofman-Kohlmeyer Magdalena
Published: March 2020

Increasing migration of audiences from television to playing console and computer games as well as greater results in reception of brand placed inside the games than traditional media attracted attentions of scholars and marketers toward this promotional tool. Average game offer a various ways to convey brand message. The purpose of the research was to identify and describe forms of promotion in virtual worlds of computer games utilized by contemporary organizations. To meet the assumed goals, the author carried out 20 in-depth interviews amongst polish players. Research sample incudes a user’s of chosen three computer games, namely The Sims, Second Life and Euro Truck Simulator 2. Results show that respondents most often listed brands featured with using direct marketing. Majority of those brand appeared as a branded product that can be used by players inside the game but companies also establish virtual headquarters or shops. Second position took advertising which looks similar like in real life and frequently takes forms of virtual billboards or paintings on cars. Public relations contain various virtual events, shows, conferences or branded places built on entertainment purposes. The least numerous groups of brands are personal selling, sales promotion and
other forms of promotion (ambient advertising and word of mouth communication).
ROLA MARKI W PROCESIE ZAKUPU ODZIEŻY WŚRÓD MŁODYCH KONSUMENTÓW
Authors: Bartczak Magdalena
Published: March 2020

Badania nad zachowaniami konsumentów ewaluowały od prostego obrazowania postępowania w kierunku szukania i wyjaśniania przyczyn konkretnych zachowań. Przyczyny owe mogą wynikać zarówno z uwarunkowań sytuacyjnych, ekonomicznych, demograficznych, jak i psychologicznych i społecznych. Celem artykułu jest wykazanie, na podstawie wyników własnych badań, wpływu uwarunkowań społecznych na zachowania młodzieży w procesie zakupu odzieży. Kluczowym problemem badawczym było rozpoznanie wpływu badanych uwarunkowań na rolę marki w procesie zakupu.
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AS A DETERMINANT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS
Authors: Wziątek-Staśko Anna , Kraczla Magdalena , Porczyńska-Ciszewska Anna , Michalik Izabela
Published: March 2020

In the literature devoted to the issues of organization and management, the importance of organizing organizational involvement has long been emphasized. In the field of management and quality sciences, an increase in interest in this issue is observed, which is a consequence of wider changes taking place in the knowledge-based economy. The importance of factors determining the level of organizational commitment, as well as its impact on the level of management effectiveness is emphasized. The success of the organization is possible thanks to activities of the, entrepreneurial, full of energy and enthusiasm, devoted to work and constantly developing - and thus, involved in the organization employees. The presented article, of a theoretical nature, using available literature on the subject, exposes the multidimensionality of organizational commitment, making it attractive to both, theorists and practitioners of management, in the context of the broadly understood success of the organization.
Nachhaltige städtebauliche Entwicklung im deutschen und griechischen Recht als Abwägungskonzept
Authors: Sfiniadaki Pantelitsa
Published: March 2020

Vor dem Hintergrund der Mehrdeutigkeit des Nachhaltigkeitsbegriffs untersucht diese Monografie dessen Konzipierung und Justiziabilität rechtsvergleichend im deutschen und griechischen Recht und veranschaulicht Rationalitätskonzepte und Rationalitätspotenziale des Nachhaltigkeitsgebots. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Leistungsfähigkeit der Abwägungsmethoden, aber auch eine ökologische bestandsschützende und eine politikbezogene Operationalisierung des Nachhaltigkeitsgebots und die Chancen seiner Rekonzeptualisierung durch ein umweltzentriertes ausgleichendes Konzept.

Das Werk richtet sich nicht nur an Staatsrechtler, Verfassungsjuristen und Rechtsphilosophen, sondern auch an Politikwissenschaftler und Städtebauingenieure.
Legal and Regulatory Framework of European Energy Markets
Authors: Burkhalter Cansu D.
Published: March 2020

Since the beginning of the 1990s, Europe has been struggling to establish a competitive as well as a fully integrated internal energy market. Until the early 1990s, the European energy markets consisted of national monopolies possessing vertically integrated structures. They were also still nationally segregated. Since, the EU has made the decision to open European energy markets to competition and subsequently establish an internal energy market.

The European energy markets are currently controlled by a dual structure consisting of two different regulatory frameworks: competition law and sector-specific regulations. The primary goal of these legal instruments is the establishment of an internal energy market.

This book aims at analysing the development of the European energy markets and policies from the perspective of competition law as well as sector-specific regulations and, hence, identifying the problems regarding the introduction of competition into the energy markets.
Consequences and Mitigation Strategies of Biotic and Abiotic Stress in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Authors: Stallworth Shandrea , Schumaker Brooklyn , Gracen Fuller Mary , Tseng Te-Ming
Published: March 2020

Rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple food for more than 3.5 billion people worldwide. Yield levels in Asia have tripled and are expected to increase by 70% over the next 30 years due to population growth. In the US, Arkansas accounts for more than 50% of rice production. Over the last 68 years, rice production has continued to grow in Mississippi, placing it in fourth place after Arkansas, Louisiana, and California. Due to increasing rice acreage, regionally and worldwide, the need to develop abiotic stress tolerant rice has increased. Unfortunately, current rice breeding programs lack genetic diversity, and many traits have been lost through the domestication of cultivated rice. Currently, stressors stemming from the continued effects of climate change continue to impact rice. This chapter highlights current research that strives to discover abiotic and biotic stress tolerant rice. This chapter calls for directed research in genetics and genomics to address the need to discover biotic and abiotic stress tolerant traits. While many genes have been uncovered to arm rice against these stresses, decreased genetic variability in current rice traits presents a small gene pool for discovery.
The structural evolution of oceanic core complexes: A concept based on analog modeling
Authors: Mart Y.
Published: March 2020

Oceanic core complexes are lithological assemblages of predominantly peridotites and serpentinites, located along intersections of some slow-spreading oceanic accreting rifts and fracture zones, embedded in the predominantly basaltic oceanic lithosphere, and fresh and old basalts are juxtaposed across the fracture zone. Centrifuge-based experimental models indicated that subduction would initiate at sites where two lithospheric slabs are juxtaposed, provided that the density difference between them is at least 200 kg/m3 and the friction along their contact plane is low. It was discerned that the modeled underthrust denser lithosphere would reach the modeled asthenosphere and represent tectonic subduction. In many such occurrences, extension in the over-riding slab would develop normal faults that could be penetrated by the lighter fraction of the subducted slab, generating volcanism and diapirism. These experiments suggest further that since the density contrasts and the low friction constraints could be satisfied at the intersections of fracture zones and slow-spreading oceanic ridges, subduction could occur there too and not only along ocean-continent boundaries. Furthermore, since the thermal gradient in ridge-fracture zone intersections is very steep and volatiles in the underthrust slab abound in the subducted slab, a portion of the underthrust basalts would undergo serpentinization and another segment could become peridotitic. It is suggested further that the light serpentinite would ascend through the normal faults in the over-riding slab and reach the seafloor diapirically, carrying along large sections of peridotite, to produce the serpentinite-peridotite petrology that typifies oceanic core complex at junctions of fracture zones and slow spreading ridges.
Seismotectonics of the Inner Tienshan: Suusamyr Basin and adjacent areas
Authors: Mikolaichuk A. V. , Kalmetyeva Z. A. , Burg J.-P. , Fossati D. , Gordeev D.V.
Published: March 2020

The Ms=7.3 Suusamyr earthquake of August 19, 1992 occurred in an area reputedly aseismic. Because it was not expected there, this event attracted worldwide attention of researchers in seismology and seismotectonics, but their results have not been included in the most recent seismic zoning map of Kyrgyzstan. New studies of neotectonic structures and focal mechanisms of earthquakes in the Suusamyr area and adjacent areas give reason to revise the established notions about the seismicity of the region. The seismic hazard in Inner Tienshan appears important and Mmax are comparable to those of the Northern and Southern Tienshan, where numerous destructive events were documented in the XIX and XX centuries. For the southern parts of the study area, along Naryn River, where hydroelectric power stations are planned, the new data should be used.
The Effect of Food Supplement MalnuForte on the Quality of Life of Children who Suffered Malnutrition in the First 1000 Days of their lives: A Case Report (MalnuForte Case Study)
Authors: Oort T.A.J. van , Oort J.M. van
Published: March 2020

Objective: Malnutrition is a common worldwide problem and, for children, has a major impact on cognitive and physical development, productivity and health. The damage due to malnutrition is largest when it occurs in the first 1000 days of life. It is largely irreversible and has far-reaching consequences. There is as yet no known cure for the negative effects of malnutrition, while a cure for a large number of previously malnourished children worldwide would lead to better chances for them in life. This case study, therefore, examines the effect of a six-month treatment of MalnuForte on the quality of life of children between 5 and 11 years who suffered malnutrition in the first 1000 days of their lives
Methods: The study subjects are five adopted children who suffered malnutrition in the first 1000 days of their lives and experienced problems or backlog in their quality of life. For six months, the children took one tablet of food supplement MalnuForte a day orally. To estimate the subjects’ quality of life, a standardized and validated quality of life questionnaire for children was used, the PedsQL.
Results: A higher quality of life after six months was found for all subjects. The mean total increase of the PedsQL scores between baseline and 6 months was 50%.
Conclusion: In this case study, the intake of food supplement MalnuForte shows remarkable increases in the quality of life of five adopted children who had suffered from malnutrition during the first 1000 days of their lives.
Nutrient Intakes among Jordanian Adolescents Based on Gender and Body Mass Index
Authors: ALjaraedah Thana’ Y. , Tayyem Reema F. , Takruri Hamed R.
Published: March 2020

Background: This study was conducted to examine the dietary intakes of macro- and micronutrients for a Jordanian adolescents based on gender and compare their intake to the Dietary Recommended Intakes (DRIs).
Methods: A sample of 398 male and female adolescents, aged 14-18 years, were recruited from private and public schools using convenience sampling. Socio-demographic questionnaire and 3-days food record were self-reported. Bodyweight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all participants.
Results: There were no significant differences between male and female adolescents regarding the intake of micro and macronutrients except for protein, insoluble fibre, saturated fat, cholesterol, omega-6, vitamin E and calcium. The intake of insoluble fibre (g/day), omega-6(g/day), and vitamin E (mg/day) was significantly higher in female adolescents (3.1±0.1, 5.6±0.5, and 3.1±0.3, respectively, P≤0.05) compared to male adolescents (2.9±0.1, 5.1±0.4, and 2.5±0.2, respectively, P≤0.05). On the other hand, the intakes of protein (g/day), saturated fat (g/day), cholesterol (mg/day), calcium (mg/day) were significantly higher in male adolescents (90.1±2.3, 31.7±1.0, 339.2±18.3, and 651.5±27.8) as compared with female adolescents (79.2±2.1, 29.2±1.2, 263.6±14.9, and 555.2±21.7) (P≤ 0.05). Comparing of the adolescents’ nutrients intake to the DRIs, many nutrients were found to be below or above the recommendations.
Conclusion: The study findings highlighted that there is an urgent need to establish a plan of action to combat malnutrition among adolescents in Jordan.
Roots, Routes, RUTAS
Authors: Alvarez Natalie
Published: March 2020

In this article, author Natalie Alvarez examines how the Caminos and RUTAS festivals of Toronto’s Aluna Theatre harness the interactional, mass gathering of the festival and its high visibility to form a theatrical commons grounded in a heterogeneous and intercultural Americas, one that includes Latin American, Latinx, Indigenous, and Afro-Caribbean artists that have historically been excluded both from the Eurocentric vision of “Latin America” and Canadian performance histories. With a producing mandate to foster Canadian-hemispheric cultural exchanges, Beatriz Pizano’s and Trevor Schwellnus’s curatorial practices aim to generate alternate genealogical routes of Canadian performance history for a new generation of artists to travel. The performance routes of these festivals speak to the critical role festivals can play in directing—and redirecting—transnational flows of knowledge and artistic production. But Pizano and Schwellnus’s curatorial aims are also driven by an interest in how festivals like RUTAS and Caminos can generate a structural shift in the kinds of artistic traditions that are sustained on Toronto’s stages and the ways in which they are sustained by fostering hemispheric collaborations and co-productions. The RUTAS and Caminos festivals demonstrate very powerfully the work that a theatrical commons can do to advance alternative producing structures and transnational coalitional politics.
Art for Everyone?
Authors: Kraus Brittany
Published: March 2020

Founded in 2008 by Shahin Sayadi and Maggie Stewart, the Prismatic Arts Festival is a Halifax-based multidisciplinary arts festival that features the work of Indigenous and culturally diverse artists. This article examines the development of the Prismatic Arts Festival and the ways in which the festival has sought to negotiate, challenge, and transform Halifax’s artistic landscape by creating a model that is locally-grounded, nationally-networked, and fundamentally devoted to advancing the careers and profiles of Indigenous and culturally diverse artists in Nova Scotia and across Canada both within and outside of mainstream performance cultures. As the festival recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, this article traces the history of the Prismatic Arts Festival, its struggles and successes, and the complex negotiations the festival has made and continues to make in order to move toward a future of Canadian theatre in which cultural diversity and inclusivity are the norm, rather than the exception.
A Small Festival for Small People
Authors: Fitzsimmons Frey Heather
Published: March 2020

The WeeFestival, English Canada’s first performance festival dedicated to children from ages 0 to 5, acts as an advocate for the early years demographic and for the artists who create for them through three key elements of festival structure: programming, space, and creative/artistic exchange. Engaging with research by Ben Fletcher-Watson, Lise Hovik, Matthew Reason, and Adele Senior, this article uses company archives, artist interviews, and the writer’s personal experiences to analyze how the WeeFestival temporarily establishes an alternative public sphere that challenges policy-makers, funders, and artists to rethink relationships between arts, very young citizens, and urban life. Even though very young citizens may not initially know that they want to experience art, the festival attends to the interests and responses of young people, demonstrates respect for their capacity to be emotionally and intellectually engaged by artful and thoughtful productions, and establishes festivalized spaces that put an alternative public sphere into action, gesturing to the possibility of real social change. Taking into account the significance of programming for artists, educators, and policy-makers alongside the significance of meaningful audience-artist exchange, the analysis suggests that events like the WeeFestival have the capacity to gently shift how urban dwellers perceive very young children and the way they interact with the arts in daily life.
Del proyecto DEAL al EOSC-hub
Authors: Cavaller Víctor
Published: March 2020

En diciembre del año 2016 un consorcio alemán de bibliotecas universitarias especializadas en investigación científica anunció un boicot a Elsevier journals. La acción tomó el nombre de Germany’s DEAL Project e incluía originalmente alrededor de sesenta grandes instituciones, que coordinadamente anunciaron que todos sus miembros cancelaban sus suscripciones a todas las publicaciones académicas y revistas científicas contratadas con Elsevier a efectos de 1 de enero de 2017. El problema del acceso abierto a las publicaciones científicas ha llevado a la Comisión Europea a la propuesta del proyecto piloto EOSC-hub —The European Open Science Cloud for Research—, pensado para desarrollarse en un plazo de 36 meses desde enero de 2018 hasta diciembre de 2020.
La batalla de la Costa Azul
Authors: Sánchez-Navarro Jordi
Published: March 2020

Hace pocos días, Netflix anunció que no acudiría con ninguna de sus producciones al Festival Internacional de Cine de Cannes debido a la modificación del reglamento del certamen, que exige que las películas de sección oficial tengan estreno en las salas de cine comercial de Francia, lo que implica, por ley, que solo podrán ofrecerse en streaming treinta y seis meses después de su estreno.
Dramaturgia gráfica: la apuesta de diseño del Centro Dramático Nacional
Authors: Martorell Sandra , Sanchis Álvaro
Published: March 2020

Ponemos sobre la mesa el título Bodas de sangre y te pedimos que sin pensar nos digas los dos-tres colores que te evoca. ¿Ya? Como la mayoría de los entrevistados seguramente habrás apostado por el rojo y el negro (y si nos apuras, y con timidez, el blanco), tanto conociendo la trama de la obra como si únicamente te has dejado llevar por lo que el título sugiere o inspira. El peso sin duda se lo lleva el vocablo sangre, rojo intenso y líquido, que a la vez evoca algo oscuro, siniestro.
Fair Principles and Beyond: Implementation in Dataverse
Authors: Crosas Mercè
Published: March 2020

A presentation from the European Dataverse Workshop 2020.
Dataverse in Göttingen
Authors: Király Péter
Published: March 2020

A presentation from the European Dataverse Workshop 2020.
Harvard Data Commons
Authors: Crosas Mercè
Published: March 2020

A presentation from the European Dataverse Workshop 2020.
Dataverse’s Approach to Technical Community Engagement
Authors: Durand Gustavo
Published: March 2020

A presentation from the European Dataverse Workshop 2020.
Dataverse on Kubernetes
Authors: Bertuch Oliver
Published: March 2020

A presentation from the European Dataverse Workshop 2020.
Comparative functional genomic analysis of Alzheimer’s affected and naturally aging brains
Authors: Peng Yi-Shian , Tang Chia-Wei , Peng Yi-Yun , Chang Hung , Chen Chien-Lung , Guo Shu-Lin , Wu Li-Ching , Huang Min-Chang , Lee Hoong-Chien
Published: March 2020

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a prevalent progressive neurodegenerative human disease whose cause remains unclear. Numerous initially highly hopeful anti-AD drugs based on the amyloid-β (Aβ) hypothesis of AD have failed recent late-phase tests. Natural aging (AG) is a high-risk factor for AD. Here, we aim to gain insights in AD that may lead to its novel therapeutic treatment through conducting meta-analyses of gene expression microarray data from AG and AD-affected brain.

Methods

Five sets of gene expression microarray data from different regions of AD (hereafter, ALZ when referring to data)-affected brain, and one set from AG, were analyzed by means of the application of the methods of differentially expressed genes and differentially co-expressed gene pairs for the identification of putatively disrupted biological pathways and associated abnormal molecular contents.

Results

Brain-region specificity among ALZ cases and AG-ALZ differences in gene expression and in KEGG pathway disruption were identified. Strong heterogeneity in AD signatures among the five brain regions was observed: HC/PC/SFG showed clear and pronounced AD signatures, MTG moderately so, and EC showed essentially none. There were stark differences between ALZ and AG. OXPHOS and Proteasome were the most disrupted pathways in HC/PC/SFG, while AG showed no OXPHOS disruption and relatively weak Proteasome disruption in AG. Metabolic related pathways including TCA cycle and Pyruvate metabolism were disrupted in ALZ but not in AG. Three pathogenic infection related pathways were disrupted in ALZ. Many cancer and signaling related pathways were shown to be disrupted AG but far less so in ALZ, and not at all in HC. We identified 54 “ALZ-only” differentially expressed genes, all down-regulated and which, when used to augment the gene list of the KEGG AD pathway, made it significantly more AD-specific.
Head CT Dose Examination for Adult Patient in Abuja and Keffi, Hospitals in Nigerian
Authors: Rilwan U. , Onuchukwu G. C. , Abdullahi H. A. , Umar I. , Sabiu L.K.
Published: March 2020

This study has established local diagnostic reference levels (LDRLs). Dose report and scan parameters for the head was assessed during seven months at the three study centres. Data on CT Dose index (CTDIw) and dose length product (DLP) available and achieved on CT scanner control console was recorded for a minimum of 10 average-sized patients for each facility to establish a local Diagnostic reference level (LDRLs) and radiation dose optimization Data was collected using a purposive sampling technique, from 131 adult patients weighing 70±3kg) from Philip brilliance, Toshiba Alexion and General Electric (GE) CT scanners for this study. The collected data were analyzed using SPPSS version (20) statistical software. Third quartile values of the estimated LDRLs for CTDIw and DLP was determined as 49.8 mGy and 9639 mGy. The mean CTDIw obtained are lower to the reported data from the European Commission of 60mGy. The mean DLP are comparably lower than all the reported value from the European commission of 1050 mGy. Therefore, CT dose optimization is recommended.