2,658 research outputs found
Mainstreaming Gender Into Project Cycle Management in the Fisheries Sector
This manual has been prepared to facilitate gender analysis and project planning in fisheries development projects. It is intended to be a toolkit to help project managers and implementing counterparts (such as extensionists, government and non-government field workers, and private- and public-sector development consultants, community organizers and leaders of local groups), to facilitate the integration of gender issues into the project cycle
Magnetostratigraphy of the Miocene continental deposits of the Montes de Castejón (central Ebro basin, Spain): geochronological and paleoenvironmental implications
A detailed magnetostratigraphic study has been carried out in the early to middle Miocene distal alluvial and lacustrine sediments of the Montes de Castejón (central Ebro Basin). The study was based on the analysis of 196 magnetostratigraphic sites sampled along a stratigraphic interval of about 240 meters. Local magnetostratigraphy yielded a sequence of 12 magnetozones (6 normal and 6 reverse) which could be correlated with the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale (GPTS) interval C5Cr to C5AD (between 17 and 14.3 Ma.). The sampled sedimentary sequences include the boundary between two tectosedimentary units (TSU, T5 and T6) already defined in the Ebro Basin. The magnetostratigraphy of the Montes de Castejón allows to date the T5/T6 TSU boundary at 16.14 Ma, within chron C5Cn.1n. This magnetostratigraphy also allows us to analyse in detail as well as to discuss the variations in sedimentation rates through space and time between different lacustrine environments: Outer carbonate lacustrine fringes and distal alluvial plains (Montes de Castejón sections) show higher sedimentation rates than offshore lacustrine areas (San Caprasio section, 50 km east of Montes de Castejón)
Stability of graph communities across time scales
The complexity of biological, social and engineering networks makes it
desirable to find natural partitions into communities that can act as
simplified descriptions and provide insight into the structure and function of
the overall system. Although community detection methods abound, there is a
lack of consensus on how to quantify and rank the quality of partitions. We
show here that the quality of a partition can be measured in terms of its
stability, defined in terms of the clustered autocovariance of a Markov process
taking place on the graph. Because the stability has an intrinsic dependence on
time scales of the graph, it allows us to compare and rank partitions at each
time and also to establish the time spans over which partitions are optimal.
Hence the Markov time acts effectively as an intrinsic resolution parameter
that establishes a hierarchy of increasingly coarser clusterings. Within our
framework we can then provide a unifying view of several standard partitioning
measures: modularity and normalized cut size can be interpreted as one-step
time measures, whereas Fiedler's spectral clustering emerges at long times. We
apply our method to characterize the relevance and persistence of partitions
over time for constructive and real networks, including hierarchical graphs and
social networks. We also obtain reduced descriptions for atomic level protein
structures over different time scales.Comment: submitted; updated bibliography from v
Semantics and Optimization of the SPARQL 1.1 Federation Extension
The W3C SPARQL working group is defining the new SPARQL 1.1
query language. The current working draft of SPARQL 1.1 focuses mainly on the description of the language. In this paper, we provide a formalization of the syntax and semantics of the SPARQL 1.1 federation extension, an important fragment of the language that has not yet received much attention. Besides, we propose optimization techniques for this fragment, provide an implementation of the fragment including these techniques, and carry out a series of experiments that show that our optimization procedures could significantly speed up the query evaluation process
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Special Economic Zones, Global Value Chains, and the Degree of Economic Linkages in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is often considered an example of the successful implementation of Special Economic Zones (henceforth SEZs) in the Western hemisphere. The zones fueled economic growth during the 1980s and 1990s and, while they experienced a sharp decline in employment due in part to the expiry of the end of the Multi-Fiber Agreement and stronger international competition in the textile and apparel industry in 2005, signs of recovery have been observed since 2009. Surgical equipment, chemicals and plastics, and footwear have recently emerged as the new drivers of export dynamism in the zones (World Bank, 2015). The objective of this report is to inform the policy discussion around the developmental impact of SEZs in the Dominican Republic by empirically assessing i) the implications of regulatory reforms aimed at complying with WTO disciplines regarding the elimination of incentives conditioned on export performance for SEZs firms, ii) the extent to which SEZs participate in Global Value Chains, and iii) their linkages with domestic suppliers. The report is organized as follows: The second section presents the historical importance of SEZ as an engine of economic growth in the country. The third section depicts the structural shift in terms of production in SEZs and evaluates the degree of value addition taking place in the Dominican Republic. The fourth section evaluates the degree and evolution of linkages between SEZs and local firms. The fifth section shows the impact of the regulatory changes in the SEZ regimen undertaken to comply with WTO disciplines. Finally, some conclusions and policy recommendations are presented in section six
Modelling diffusion of innovations in a social network
A new simple model of diffusion of innovations in a social network with
upgrading costs is introduced. Agents are characterized by a single real
variable, their technological level. According to local information agents
decide whether to upgrade their level or not balancing their possible benefit
with the upgrading cost. A critical point where technological avalanches
display a power-law behavior is also found. This critical point is
characterized by a macroscopic observable that turns out to optimize
technological growth in the stationary state. Analytical results supporting our
findings are found for the globally coupled case.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Final version accepted in PR
Sedimentology and depositional architecture of tufas deposited in stepped fluvial systems of changing slope: Lessons from the quaternary añamaza valley (Iberian Range, Spain)
The Pleistocene and Holocene tufas of the Añamaza valley (stepped build-ups, up to 70 m thick, along the valley) consist of several depositional stages separated by erosional surfaces. Eight associations of tufa and related carbonate facies, plus minor polygenic detrital facies, represent the processes that occurred in different fluvial and related environments. The bedrock lithology and structure controlled the location of the knickpoints along the valley and allowed separation of two stepped stretches with distinct conceptual facies models. The moderate-slope model includes extensive standing-water areas dammed by barrage-cascades. In the lakes, bioclastic silts, sands and limestones along with phytoclastic and marly, at places peaty, sediments formed. Abundant stem phytoherms account for extensive palustrine areas. The high-slope model consists of smaller dammed areas between close-up cascades and barrage-cascades, which were composed primarily of moss phytoherms and phytoclastic tufas. An outstanding feature is the extensive steep reach with phytoclastic and polygenic detrital sediments, and stepped cascades consisting of stromatolitic and moss phytoherms. There, the steep slope limited the preservation of stem phytoherms and favoured erosion. The geometry and thickness of the sedimentary fill (wedge-shaped units composed of cascade and barrage-cascade deposits downstream, and dammed and gentle-sloped channel deposits upstream) are therefore different for each model. Multi-storey wedges are a distinctive feature of the high-slope model. The initial knickpoint geometry and the tufa aggradation/progradation ratio on such steep surfaces (for example, related to changes in discharge) controlled the growth style of the cascades or barrage-cascades and, hence, the extent, thickness and vertical evolution of the upstream deposits. The sedimentological attributes and stable-isotope composition of the carbonate facies suggest a higher and more variable precipitation/evaporation ratio during the Pleistocene than during the Holocene, consistent with an overall decrease in the river discharge. This evolution was coupled with warm conditions, which prevailed during the stages of tufa formation. These results may help to assess architectural patterns in interpreting other basins, and underscore the significance of tufas as records of past hydrology and climate
Fracturas complejas del radio distal: tratamiento quirúrgico de las fracturas tipo C2
Se presentan 73 casos de fractura de radio distal tipo C2 tratadas en nuestro servicio. Se utilizó como método de osteosíntesis una placa palmar en 3 casos, agujas de Kirschner en 38 casos, fijadores externos en 30 y fijador externo + agujas en 2 casos. Los mejores resultados se obtuvieron en los grupos de casos tratados con placa palmar y con agujas + fijador externo. El fijador externo, aplicado de forma aislada, que "a priori" era el mejor sistema de tratamiento, ha resultado al final ser el procedimiento que se ha visto acompañado de una mayor proporción de secuelas clínicas y consolidaciones viciosas.A total of 73 cases of C2 type fracture of the distal
radius treated in our Department are presented. A volar pla-
te was used as fixation method in 3 cases, Kirschner wire in
38 cases, external fixator in 30 cases, and external fixator
plus Kirschner wire in 2 cases. The best results were obtai-
ned in the groups of cases treated with a volar plate and ex-
ternal fixator associated with Kirschner wire. The isolated
external fixator, that at first was the best system of treatment,
has turned out to be the procedure that has been accompa-
nied by a greater incidence of clinical sequels and vicious
consolidations
Tratamiento quirúrgico de las fracturas del radio distal en pacientes jóvenes
Se presentan 118 casos de fractura de radio distal ocurridas en pacientes jóvenes (menores de 40 años)
tratadas en nuestro Servicio entre los años 1992 y 2004. Se utilizó como método de osteosíntesis una placa palmar en
26 casos, agujas de Kirschner percutáneas en 60 casos asociadas a vendaje escayolado, fijadores externos en 25 y fijador
externo + agujas en los 7 casos restantes. Tras la revisión de los resultados, hemos observado los mejores resultados
en el grupo de casos tratados con placa volar y una alta incidencia de secuelas clínicas y consolidaciones viciosas
entre los pacientes tratados con fijador externo.A total of 118 cases of fracture of the distal radius in young patients (smaller of 40-year-old) treated in
our Department between years 1992 and 2004 are presented. A volar plate was used as fixation method in 26 cases,
percutaneous Kirschner wires in 60 cases, external fixator in 25 and external fixator plus Kirschner wires in the 7
remaining cases. After the review of the series, we have observed the best results in the group of cases treated with
volar plate and a greater incidence of clinical sequelae and vicious consolidations in the patients treated by external
fixatio
La osteosíntesis con placa volar como tratamiento de las fracturas complejas del radio distal
Se presentan 45 casos de fractura compleja del
radio distal tratados mediante reducción abierta y osteosíntesis
con placa palmar. Los resultados fueron satisfactorios en
42 casos (93,3 %), con pocas complicaciones durante su evolución45 cases of complex fracture of the distal radius are presented. They were treated by open reduction and stable fixation with a volar plate. The results were satisfactory in 42 cases (93,3 %), with few complications during their evolution
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