Plants as biotic indicators of Neogene palaeoenvironmental evolution in the Cape Floristic Region

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Comparative biologists have refined the synthesis of molecularly dated phylogenies and ecological data into an important tool to reconstruct the evolution of species and biomes, and to unravel the history and role of abiotic determinants of diversity patterns (fire, climate, tectonism). This has been extended into the cross-disciplinary, geobiological approach of 'geoecodynamics' has exploits the spatial fidelity of locally restricted organisms to unravel the temporal and spatial evolution of landforms. This research approach is adopted here across 11 plant clades representing six prominent plant families of the Cape flora (Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Restionaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Proteaceae) to infer (i) the relative roles of climatic changes and neotectonic uplift in shaping the CFR since the Early Miocene, and to detemine (ii) whether contrasting evolutionary processes (adaptive versus non-adaptive) exhibit spatial structuring within the flora, given the complex topography of the region

Defining Qualitative Properties

The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic account of the metaphysically important distinction between haecceitistic properties, such as being David Lewis or being acquainted with David Lewis, and qualitative properties, such as being red or being acquainted with a famous philosopher. I first argue that this distinction is hyperintensional, that is, that cointensional properties can differ in whether they are qualitative. Then I develop an analysis of the qualitative/haecceitistic distinction according to which haecceitistic properties are relational in a certain sense. I argue that this analysis can capture the hyperintensionality of the qualitative/haecceitistic distinction and is generally in accordance with the use of the notion of a qualitative property in philosophical debates

CT Bildgebung von Knochen und Knochenmarkinfiltration bei malignem Melanom – Herausforderungen und Grenzen für klinisches Staging im Vergleich zu 18F-FDG-PET/CT

Diese Studie vergleicht die diagnostischen Aussagewerte der CT mit der 18F FDG PET/CT bezüglich des Nachweises einer Knochenmarkinfiltration beim malignen Melanom. Von fünfzig Patienten, mit einem Alter von 61 ± 15,12 Jahren, die am malignen Melanom erkrankt waren, wurden sowohl Kontrastmittel verstärkte CT als auch PET/CT Untersuchungen durchgeführt. Diese Bilddatensätze wurden von zwei Radiologen gemeinsam auf Läsionen im Knochen und Knochenmark untersucht und legten den Schwerpunkt hierbei auf Läsionsort, -typ und -größe. Die PET/CT wurde als Referenzstandard verwendet um Sensitivität, Spezifität, positiven und negativen prädiktiven Wert zu ermitteln. Des Weiteren wurden der Serumhämoglobinspiegel, die Thrombozytenzahl und der Wert des Serumproteins S100 untersucht und mit der An- oder Abwesenheit von Knochenmarkmetastasen in Zusammenhang gebracht. Laut der PET/CT als Referenzstandard wurden von 594 Knochen- und Knochenmarkläsionen 495 als bösartig angesehen. P Die kontrastverstärkte CT ergab eine läsionsbasierte Sensitivität von 36,8 % und eine Spezifität von 87,9 %. Der positiv prädiktive Wert lag bei 93,8 %, der negative bei 21,8 %. Die patientenbasierte Sensitivität war 78,8 % und die Spezifität 82,4 %. Von den übersehenen Läsionen waren die meisten medullär (95,8 %). Eine disseminierte Beteiligung des Knochenmarks wurde als mehr als zehn Knochenmarkläsionen oder diffuse Infiltration eines ganzen Körpersegments definiert. Eine solche disseminierte Knochenmarkbeteiligung wurde in elf Fällen beschrieben, wovon sechs dieser Fälle im CT unterschätzt oder sogar vollständig übersehen wurden. Die Knochenmarkdichte im Falle einer disseminierten Knochenmarkinfiltration zeigte sich im Humerus signifikant erhöht (p = 0,04), im Femur oder Kreuzbein jedoch nicht (p = 0,06). Es ergab sich zwar kein isolierter Effekt von Knochenmetastasen auf S100-Serum- und Hämoglobinspiegel, dennoch zeigten beide bei Patienten mit disseminierter Knochenmarkbeteiligung eine signifikante Veränderung (p < 0,05). Auch wenn in dieser retrospektiven Studie eine verhältnismäßig kleine Gruppe an Probanden untersucht wurde, so verdeutlicht sie doch eine mögliche Korrelation zwischen Laborparametern und dem Vorhandensein von disseminierter Knochenmarkinfiltration von am malignen Melanom erkrankten Patienten. Des Weiteren zeigt diese Studie die Limitationen der CT-Bildgebung bezogen auf diffuse Knochenmarkläsionen auf und es lässt sich abschließend sagen, dass der diagnostische Wert der Computertomographie zum Nachweis von Knochenmarkmetastasen bei Patienten mit metastasierendem malignem Melanom, begrenzt ist. Besonders in Fällen mit disseminiertem Knochen- und Knochenmarkbeteiligung etwa 50 % der Fälle wurden übersehen oder unterschätzt. Unter Betrachtung der Tatsache, dass in den kommenden Jahren eine zielgerichtete und aussichtsreiche Therapie für Patienten mit disseminierter Knochenmarkinfiltration zur Verfügung stehen könnte, ist die Detektion dieser Patienten unabdingbar um eine Verbesserung der Überlebensrate zu ermöglichen. Nur durch eine optimale Diagnostik lässt sich ein läsionsorientierter und individuell optimierter Therapieansatz gewährleisten

Bread prices and sea levels: why probabilistic causal models need to be monotonic

A key challenge for probabilistic causal models is to distinguish non-causal probabilistic dependencies from true causal relations. To accomplish this task, causal models are usually required to satisfy several constraints. Two prominent constraints are the causal Markov condition and the faithfulness condition. However, other constraints are also needed. One of these additional constraints is the causal sufficiency condition, which states that models must not omit any direct common causes of the variables they contain. In this paper, I argue that the causal sufficiency condition is problematic: (1) it is incompatible with the requirement that the variables in a model must not stand in non-causal necessary dependence relations, such as mathematical or conceptual relations, or relations described in terms of supervenience or grounding, (2) it presupposes more causal knowledge as primitive than is actually needed to create adequate causal models, and (3) if models are only required to be causally sufficient, they cannot deal with cases where variables are probabilistically related by accident, such as Sober’s example of the relationship between bread prices in England and the sea level in Venice. I show that these problems can be avoided if causal models are required to be monotonic in the following sense: the causal relations occurring in a model M would not disappear if further variables were added to M. I give a definition of this monotonicity condition and conclude that causal models should be required to be monotonic rather than causally sufficient

O diálogo entre literatura e educação ambiental

Este artigo originou-se a partir de minha práxis enquanto educadora ambiental, mediadora de leitura e contadora de histórias. O relato aqui feito é uma síntese de dez anos, desenvolvendo projetos de incentivo a leitura literária e promovendo o diálogo amoroso entre, Literatura e Educação Ambiental. As práticas referidas aconteceram em diferentes espaços, na educação formal e não formal. Buscarei reconhecer alguns pontos de tangência entre as obras analisadas. Da educação formal, trarei uma síntese da trajetória percorrida no município de São Leopoldo – RS, e descreverei o projeto em desenvolvimento na E.M.E.F. Paul Harris. As ideias de Paulo Freire; Carlos Rodrigues Brandão; Frederico B. Loureiro; Philippe P. Layrargues; Rachel Trajber; Luiz Antônio Ferraro e Manoel de Barros tecerão a rede teórica que sustentará a prática aqui apresentada

Production de litières par des forêts situées dans le pré-delta du fleuve Paraná (Argentine)

• The objectives of this study were to measure litterfall production of the four floodplain forest types and to analyze the relationship between litterfall (forest type, dominant species, organic fractions) and flood pulses. • Litterfall production was measured in two mono-specific stands of Salix humboldtiana or Tessaria integrifolia, respectively, and two mixed forests dominated by A. inundata or Nectandra angustifolia, during 1998 and the 2000–2002 periods. • Mono-specific stands presented similar productivities (6.8 and 6.5 Mg dry matter ha−1 y−1, respectively), but differed significantly from the two other. The highest litterfall production was obtained during the large flood that occurred during 1998, decreasing later throughout the study period. Leaves were the dominant fraction of litterfall, followed by branches, flowers and fruits. • Only S. humboldtiana, T. integrifolia and A. inundata forests showed distinct patterns of litterfall production, depending on the flooding pulse. N. angustifolia did not show a distinctive litterfall pattern • The forests studied here presented patterns of litter production associated with the flood pulse according to its location along a topographic gradient, that controls the litter productivity of these forests.• Cette étude avait pour but de mesurer la production de litière dans quatre forêts alluviales et d’analyser les relations entre les litières (selon le type de forêt, l’espèce dominante, et des fractions organiques) et les crues du fleuve Paraná (Argentine). • La production de litière a été mesurée dans deux forêts monospécifiques de Salix humboldtiana ou de Tessaria integrifolia, et dans deux forêts mixtes où l’espèce prédominante était soit Albizia inundata soit Nectandra angustifolia. Cette étude a été menée en 1998 puis de 2000 à 2002. • Les forêts monospécifiques présentent des productions de litières similaires (6.8 et 6.5 Mg matière sèche ha−1 ans−1 respectivement) et étaient significativement différentes des deux forêts mixtes. La plus forte production de litière a été obtenue au cours de la grande crue de 1998, puis a diminué progressivement au cours du temps. Les feuilles représentaient la principale fraction des litières, tandis que les branches, les fleurs et les fruits constituent des fractions mineures. • Les forêts dominées par S. humboldtiana, T. integrifolia et A. inundata ont vu leur production de litière évoluer en fonction des crues du fleuve Parana. Ce type de relation entre crue et production de litière n’a pas été détecté dans le cas des forêts de N. angustifolia. • Il existe ainsi une relation entre la production de litière et la hauteur des crues, elle-même conditionnée par un gradient topographique, qui détermine donc la production de litière de ces forêts.We are grateful to R. D’Angelo, R. Zanello, and O. Bejarano for their help in field data collection; and to “National Parks Administration (APN)” for allowing this study. Recognitions to the anonymous reviewers which helped to improve the original manuscript. This research has been partially funded by the PICT-ANPCyT 11928, the PIP-CONICET 6374, and the PID-UNER 2089/01.Peer reviewe

Transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 to healthcare workers -observational results of a primary care hospital contact tracing.

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 epidemic is evolving rapidly. Healthcare workers are at increased risk for infection, and specific requirements for their protection are advisable to ensure the functioning of the basic healthcare system, including the availability of general practitioners (GPs). Understanding the transmission risk is particularly important for guiding evidence-based protective measures in the primary healthcare setting. METHODS Healthcare worker contacts of an initially undiagnosed COVID-19 case, who were without personal protective equipment, in particular not wearing facemasks, were screened with nasopharyngeal swabs and polymerase chain reaction tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), irrespective of respiratory symptoms or fever seven days after initial contact. The details of exposure to the index case were obtained during routine contact investigation after unintentional pathogen exposure. RESULTS Twenty-one healthcare workers reported contacts with the index case. Three healthcare workers reported respiratory symptoms (cough) or low-grade fever within 4 days. None of them tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at the time of symptom onset. All 21 healthcare workers tested SARS-CoV-2 negative 7 days after initial index case contact, including the three healthcare workers with previous symptoms. Ten of the 21 healthcare workers reported a cumulative exposure time of &gt;15 minutes. Longer cumulative contact times were associated with more individual contacts, reduced contact time per contact and activities with physical patient contact. The closest relative of the index patient tested SARS-CoV-2 positive 2 days after the index case presented at the hospital emergency department. CONCLUSION We found a low risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a primary care setting. These findings are compatible with previous reports of the highest transmission probability in household settings with prolonged close contacts. The current protective measures for healthcare workers, including strict adherence to basic standard hygiene and facemasks, offer considerable protection during short periods of contact with symptomatic COVID-19 cases by diminishing the risk of direct and indirect transmission

A FUNÇÃO SOCIAL DAS ORGANIZAÇÕES E INSTITUIÇÕES

No sentido de compreender o papel social que nossas organizações e instituições vêm desempenhando ao longo dos tempos, principalmente no que tange à questão dos seus impactos na sociedade brasileira, procurar-se-á desvelar à luz das regras constitucionais e legais a função social das mesmas, enquanto propriedade empresarial dos meios de produção. Nota-se que este tema é de fundamental importância para nossas organizações,além de ser atual, pois ele proporcionará um aporte teórico e legal no que tange às questões relativas ao princípio da propriedade privada e sua função social, no intuito de compreender,portanto, o seu papel humanitário, além de seu conjunto de incumbências, direitos e deveres,em prol dos interesses e necessidades da sociedade em que está inserida, buscando incondicionalmente uma sociedade livre, justa e solidária. A Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil (CRFB/88), promulgada em 1988, já expõe uma preocupação relativa com o bem-estar da sociedade como um todo, sempre no intuito de que algo deva ser feito,tanto no direito, como no capital, propriedade e sociedade, valorizando sempre a dignidade da pessoa humana e a sociedade empresarial cumpra, portanto, sua função social. Baseado no princípio da propriedade privada e sua função social pretende-se averiguar como as organizações e instituições brasileiras compreendem o seu papel social