The Problem With Stories: The Gap, Through A Fictocritical Lens

This article examines the existence and function of the narrative in the philosophies of modernism and postmodernism through application of these notions to The Gap, an ocean cliff in the eastern Sydney suburb of Watson’s Bay. Written in the experimental fictocritical style, this article uses fictocritical eye to delve into the function of postmodern local narrative and espouse the differences between it and the more prevalent metanarrative of modernism. While scholars continue to study the differences evident in modernism and postmodernism, here they are married in an inseparable manner that asks readers to rethink the notions of modern and postmodernism and their time-periods

Valuing Diversity

As part of the National Collegiate Honors Council’s (2022) collection of essays about the value of honors to its graduates (1967–2019), the author reflects on the personal and professional impacts of the honors experience. In 1998, when I entered Youngstown State, I had never heard of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which is now considered to be one of the most critical investments a company can make in building toward success. Just because the focus had not come yet, though, does not mean that the principles were not impacting people’s lives, including mine. At the core, an honors program exists to allow students who are academically strong access to additional resources, courses, and opportunities to test their strengths and push themselves further. This criterion naturally allows for students from a wide variety of backgrounds to come together with common goals. No one is required to participate in honors, and this self-selecting nature of the program allows students to know that everyone there is not only capable but also choosing to work harder, to do more, and to be their best, which is a unique starting point for building relationships

Flight feather moult in Western Marsh Harriers during autumn migration

Abstract Background Most of long-distance migratory raptors suspend moult during migration but detailed information is patchy for most of the Palearctic species. The aim of this research is to verify if active moulting in migrating Western Marsh Harriers occurs and to quantify the extent of moulting along the season focusing on primary feathers. Methods During a whole post-breeding migration at the Strait of Messina in Southern Italy, we gathered information about symmetrical flight feather moult from 221 adults by taking pictures of raptors passing at close range. Results We found active moulting primaries during autumn migration in 48.4% of our samples. Slight differences on the extension and timing among sex classes were recorded during the season, with adult females showing a more advanced moult stage than adult males. Conclusion The finding that the extension of the suspended moult was already defined in migratory individuals might be explained as an adaptation to minimize the energy required for moulting during migration

Analysis of the Spatial Migration Patterns of Adult Honey Buzzards (<i>Pernis apivorus</i>) During Spring and Autumn in the Central Mediterranean

Analysis of the Spatial Migration Patterns of Adult Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus) During Spring and Autumn in the Central Mediterranean In this paper we analyse the spatial migration patterns and the water crossing tendency of adult Honey Buzzards during spring and autumn migration in the Central Mediterranean region. In this area, during spring, these long-distance migrants wintering in western-central Equatorial Africa, concentrate crossing the sea between Africa and Europe through the Channel of Sicily, about 150 km wide, at least part of them via the islands of Pantelleria and Marettimo. When they reach western Sicily most of them fly east, along the mountain chain of northern Sicily, towards the Strait of Messina. Nevertheless, thousands of birds use a more direct route to reach the continental mainland undertaking the crossing of the Tyrrhenian Sea via Ustica and the Lipari Islands. During autumn the migration of adult Honey Buzzards is less consistent. They tend to follow the Italian Peninsula and northern Sicily reaching Africa through the Channel of Sicily while very few cross the Tyrrhenian Sea. On the contrary, during their first migration, large numbers of juveniles, moving about two weeks later than adults, cross the Central Mediterranean region on a broader front presumably along NE-SW innate axis. It is supposed that larger numbers of adult Honey Buzzards choose the central Mediterranean route during spring migration to reach earlier their breeding areas in eastcentral Europe. During post-reproductive movements most of them would circumfly the Mediterranean Sea crossing at the Strait of Gibraltar and at the Bosporus. In this picture the discovery of more direct routes between breeding and wintering areas made by juvenile birds during their first migration may have the adaptive value

Jatropha Curcas Sludge Valorization

Abstract Jatropha which grows in tropical and subtropical climates across the developing world, is a perennial species that received much attention for its ability to grow on 'marginal land and to produce seeds with high oil percentage. Among the different species of Jatropha, Jatropha curcas is suitable as ornamental plant, raw material for dye, potential feed stock, soil enrichment manure and more importantly for biodiesel production. The mechanical pressing of the Jatropha seeds for oil production results in large amounts of solid residue (seed cake) and sludge that contain oil, water, minerals, proteins, toxic compounds and anti-nutritional factors. The aim of our work was to screen the fertilizing power of Jatropha sludge and its oily and solid fractions for promoting biodiesel circular economy. Our results indicated that seeds of watercress had a better germination performance than lettuce with Jatropha sludge and its fractions. This could depend on the different sensitivity of the two species and/or also to the composition of the sludge and its fractions. The solid fraction had the greatest inhibitory effects on germination of both species. The oily fraction had the less phytotoxic effect on the germination process while only in presence of the total sludge at 25%, seeds of watercress and lettuce showed a germination percentage lower than 50%. Higher concentrations were completely inhibitory. The phytotoxic effects of the sludge and its fractions may be attributed to the combination of high EC and phenol contents. This study revealed that highly diluted Jatropha total sludge may be very useful as good source of nutrients for crop production, cutting short the use of chemical fertilizers

Repetitive low-frequency stimulation reduces epileptiform synchronization in limbic neuronal networks.

Deep-brain electrical or transcranial magnetic stimulation may represent a therapeutic tool for controlling seizures in patients presenting with epileptic disorders resistant to antiepileptic drugs. In keeping with this clinical evidence, we have reported that repetitive electrical stimuli delivered at approximately 1 Hz in mouse hippocampus-entorhinal cortex (EC) slices depress the EC ability to generate ictal activity induced by the application of 4-aminopyridine (4AP) or Mg2+-free medium (Barbarosie, M., Avoli, M., 1997. CA3-driven hippocampal–entorhinal loop controls rather than sustains in vitro limbic seizures. J. Neurosci. 17, 9308–9314.). Here, we confirmed a similar control mechanism in rat brain slices analyzed with field potential recordings during 4AP (50 μM) treatment. In addition, we used intrinsic optical signal (IOS) recordings to quantify the intensity and spatial characteristics of this inhibitory influence. IOSs reflect the changes in light transmittance throughout the entire extent of the slice, and are thus reliable markers of limbic network epileptiform synchronization. First, we found that in the presence of 4AP, the IOS increases, induced by a train of electrical stimuli (10 Hz for 1 s) or by recurrent, single-shock stimulation delivered at 0.05 Hz in the deep EC layers, are reduced in intensity and area size by low-frequency (1 Hz), repetitive stimulation of the subiculum; these effects were observed in all limbic areas contained in the slice. Second, by testing the effects induced by repetitive subicular stimulation at 0.2–10 Hz, we identified maximal efficacy when repetitive stimuli are delivered at 1 Hz. Finally, we discovered that similar, but slightly less pronounced, inhibitory effects occur when repetitive stimuli at 1 Hz are delivered in the EC, suggesting that the reduction of IOSs seen during repetitive stimulation is pathway dependent as well as activity dependent. Thus, the activation of limbic networks at low frequency reduces the intensity and spatial extent of the IOS changes that accompany ictal synchronization in an in vitro slice preparation. This conclusion supports the view that repetitive stimulation may represent a potential therapeutic tool for controlling seizures in patients with pharmacoresistant epileptic disorders

Migrating raptor counts: the need for sharing objectives and field protocols, and the benefits of using radar

Capsule: Raptor migration attracts the interest for different reasons, but not all raptor counts achieve the goal of repeatability through the use of standardized field protocols, and this does not allow comparisons of data to be made across years and sites. Aims: We analysed migrating raptor count activities in Italy to verify the interest on this phenomenon by identifying organizers of such counts, and we ascertained the use of a minimum repeatable field protocol (MRFP), and the implications of using it or not. Moreover, we tested the use of radar to support field monitoring. Methods: We analysed 298 migrating raptor counts carried out between 1984 and 2016 by considering characteristics of raptor counts at migratory bottlenecks (number of years covered, use of MRFP, numbers of raptors counted, etc.). In addition, we analysed two case studies using radar to evaluate the effectiveness of raptor counts. Results: There is a growing interest in raptor migration, as well as an increasing use of a MRFP, although differences between counts emerged, probably due to the different aims of the promoting organizations. At sites not using MRFP, more raptors were counted than at other sites, probably because of a greater bias in the data collected. Radar is able to clarify the water-crossing behaviour of raptors at coastal sites, and allows the proportion of birds passing undetected by observers to be evaluated. It also provides data on the spatial density of migrants across a sample area. Conclusions: The use of MRFP is important to harmonize data collection and is necessary to allow comparisons across years and sites. Moreover, the use of radar can be recommended for optimizing raptor monitoring schemes

Immagine corporea dopo chirurgia bariatrica: uno studio pilota

L'obiettivo di questo studio sperimentale è stato quello di indagare la percezione dell'immagine corporea e l'insoddisfazione corporea in un gruppo di 111 pazienti obesi (90 femmine e 21 maschi) già sottoposti a chirurgia bariatrica. Ai soggetti, dopo aver effettuato il colloquio psicologico, sono stati somministrati due test psicologici, il Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) per indagare l'insoddisfazione corporea e il Figure Rating Scale che valuta la percezione che il soggetto ha delle proprie dimensioni corporee. Le tre figure riguardavano la figura che il soggetto ricorda di aver avuto prima dell'intervento di chirurgia bariatrica, come si vede adesso e qual'è l'immagine ideale che vorrebbe. La discrepanza tra l'immagine corporea attuale e quella desiderata rappresentano un indice di insoddisfazione corporea. Il campione è stato inoltre suddiviso in 5 gruppi in base ai giorni trascorsi dall'intervento (1096) per discriminare i vari momenti del calo ponderale e/o dell'eventuale recupero. Risultati: l'IMC post-chirurgico correlava con la figura attuale "come sono" ad indicare la buona capacità di rappresentare se stessi e il ricordo di come erano correlava con l'IMC pre-chirurgico. Alcune relazioni sono anche emerse tra la misura dell'insoddisfazione corporea misurata con la BUT, la figura attuale "come sono" e l'IMC post-chirurgico. I risultati ottenuti dimostrano che i soggetti riportavano una corretta percezione delle proprie dimensioni corporee. Era comunque presente insoddisfazione per il peso e per l'immagine corporea in tutti i sottogruppi considerati ad eccezione del gruppo 2, cioé quello che era nel periodo di maggior calo ponderale. L'insoddisfazione è indirettamente espressa anche con il desiderio di sottoporsi a chirurgia plastica nel 44% dei soggetti. In conclusione, dallo studio emerge come il dimagrimento ottenuto mediante chirurgia bariatrica possa portare ad una minore insoddisfazione corporea nei primi 2 anni dopo l'intervento. L'insoddisfazione corporea permane sia per il recupero ponderale di alcuni soggetti sia per la discrepanza con l'immagine ideale Questo studio pilota ha il limite importante di aver considerato dei gruppi eterogenei ma può porre le basi per uno studio longitudinale