Correlations and forecast of death tolls in the Syrian conflict

The Syrian armed conflict has been ongoing since 2011 and has already caused thousands of deaths. The analysis of death tolls helps to understand the dynamics of the conflict and to better allocate resources and aid to the affected areas. In this article, we use information on the daily number of deaths to study temporal and spatial correlations in the data, and exploit this information to forecast events of deaths. We found that the number of violent deaths per day in Syria varies more widely than that in England in which non-violent deaths dominate. We have identified strong positive auto-correlations in Syrian cities and non-trivial cross-correlations across some of them. The results indicate synchronization in the number of deaths at different times and locations, suggesting respectively that local attacks are followed by more attacks at subsequent days and that coordinated attacks may also take place across different locations. Thus the analysis of high temporal resolution data across multiple cities makes it possible to infer attack strategies, warn potential occurrence of future events, and hopefully avoid further deaths

Unveiling relationships between crime and property in England and Wales via density scale-adjusted metrics and network tools

Scale-adjusted metrics (SAMs) are a significant achievement of the urban scaling hypothesis. SAMs remove the inherent biases of per capita measures computed in the absence of isometric allometries. However, this approach is limited to urban areas, while a large portion of the world’s population still lives outside cities and rural areas dominate land use worldwide. Here, we extend the concept of SAMs to population density scale-adjusted metrics (DSAMs) to reveal relationships among different types of crime and property metrics. Our approach allows all human environments to be considered, avoids problems in the definition of urban areas, and accounts for the heterogeneity of population distributions within urban regions. By combining DSAMs, cross-correlation, and complex network analysis, we find that crime and property types have intricate and hierarchically organized relationships leading to some striking conclusions. Drugs and burglary had uncorrelated DSAMs and, to the extent property transaction values are indicators of affluence, twelve out of fourteen crime metrics showed no evidence of specifically targeting affluence. Burglary and robbery were the most connected in our network analysis and the modular structures suggest an alternative to "zero-tolerance" policies by unveiling the crime and/or property types most likely to affect each other

2017 Research & Innovation Day Program

A one day showcase of applied research, social innovation, scholarship projects and activities.https://first.fanshawec.ca/cri_cripublications/1004/thumbnail.jp

Flagellar ion channels of sperm: similarities and differences between species

Motility and fertilization potential of mammalian sperm are regulated by ion homeostasis which in turn is under tight control of ion channels and transporters. Sperm intracellular pH, membrane voltage and calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) are all important for sperm activity within the female reproductive tract. While all mammalian sperm are united in their goal to find and fertilize an egg, the molecular mechanisms they utilize for this purpose are diverse and differ between species especially on the level of ion channels. Recent direct recording from sperm cells of different species indicate the differences between rodent, non-human primate, ruminant, and human sperm on the basic levels of their ion channel regulation. In this review we summarize the current knowledge about ion channel diversity of the animal kingdom and concentrate our attention on flagellar ion channels of mammalian sperm

El efecto de las revolturas sobre la variaci?n de la temperatura y del pH durante la fermentaci?n del cacao

Tesis (M. Sc) -- IICA, Turrialba (Costa Rica), 1950Se han estudiado las variaciones f?sicas de la fermentaci?n del cacao. Especialmente la temperatura y el pH de la pulpa inducidos por varios ciclos de revoltura de la masa durante el proceso. Se incluye secado, p?rdida de peso en este y en fermentaci?n y porcentaje de humedad en el producto seco. Se tendr?n posteriormente pruebas de aroma, sabor (organol?pticas) y qu?micas del producto final. Se encontr? correlaci?n positiva entre las temperaturas internas (fondo y centro) de las capas de fermentaci?n y la ambiental correlacionadas separadamente. Se juzgaron los 4 tratamientos con base en las temperaturas y diversas cualidades despu?s de la fermentaci?n. El tratamiento B (revolviendo la masa cada 12 hs.) fue el mejor. Tuvo las mayores temperaturas durante el experimento. El segundo lugar corresponde al tratamiento A (revolviendo cada 6 hs.). Despu?s el tratamiento D (testigo - sin revolver). El tratamiento C tuvo las temperaturas m?s bajas durante este estudio

Integrated reporting as a strategy for firm growth: Multiple case study in Colombia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of the integrated reporting (IR) framework in a group of Colombian enterprises. Design/methodology/approach - This is a multiple-case study in six enterprises that use the IR framework. The selected enterprises, all of which were located in either Bogota or Medellin, were Argos, EEB, EPM, ISA, Nutresa and Ocensa. The authors conducted individual interviews of reporters and performed a documentary analysis. Findings - The few Colombian firms that use the IR framework all have ambitious expansion goals in the medium term. The main reason for the adoption of the IR framework in these firms is that it facilitates access to resources from new foreign investors. Research limitations/implications - Since the framework was published recently, only a few Colombian firms follow it, and several of them do not apply all of its components. In the future, there will be more reports and a higher level of framework application. Practical implications - In the firms studied, the IR framework is an important tool to support the search strategies of new sources of financial capital. Social implications - If the use of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) framework were to diminish the application of the GRI, firms would be less likely to evaluate the impact of their activities on numerous stakeholders (other than shareholders). Originality/value - This is the first Colombian study of IR to include both documentary analysis and personal interviews. © Emerald Publishing Limited

Intelligent Process Automation: An Application in Manufacturing Industry

Background: The intelligent processes automation has been cataloged as one of the most potential and strategic technology solutions to develop a corporate digital transformation. Method: This paper introduces essential concepts to create Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) in industries and proposes a framework to implement IPA technologies successfully. The approach involves: firstly, assembling a good implementation setup and deeply researching the process using process mining techniques. Secondly, choosing and locating the best AI technology inside the IPA. Finally, defining an appropriate architecture of the IPA. Results: The paper illustrates an IPA use case in the manufacturing industry, where it is possible to automate the process of sending production orders to a manufacturing plant and optimize waste and plant capacity significantly. Conclusions: The research depicts the potential of intelligent process automation and its quantifiable benefits in the manufacturing process, and the contribution can be applied to different enterprises with a global context