Use of the newer information and communication technologies in the development of listening and speaking skills

Der Artikel ist dem Einsatz der Medien im Sprachunterricht gewidmet. Nachdem im ersten Teil des Artikels der Begriff „Medien“, seine Geschichte, Klassifikation und Entwicklungswege erleuchtet werden, wenden sich die Autorinnen im zweiten Teil der praktischen Nutzung der audiovisuellen Medien im Unterricht zu. Die Relevanz des Artikels besteht im komplexen Ansatz zur Frage der modernen digitalen Medien (YouTube-Vlogs) beim Fremdsprachenlernen. The aim of this article is to examine how multiple media tools could be used for teaching a foreign language. The first part of the article is about the concept of “Media”, its history, classification and development. The second part reveals the practical use of audiovisual media in the teaching process of the foreign language. The relevance of the article consists in the complex approach to the question of modern digital media (YouTube vlogs) in foreign language learnin

The management of acute venous thromboembolism in clinical practice. Results from the European PREFER in VTE Registry

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Data from real-world registries are necessary, as clinical trials do not represent the full spectrum of VTE patients seen in clinical practice. We aimed to document the epidemiology, management and outcomes of VTE using data from a large, observational database. PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional disease registry conducted between January 2013 and July 2015 in primary and secondary care across seven European countries. Consecutive patients with acute VTE were documented and followed up over 12 months. PREFER in VTE included 3,455 patients with a mean age of 60.8 ± 17.0 years. Overall, 53.0 % were male. The majority of patients were assessed in the hospital setting as inpatients or outpatients (78.5 %). The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in 59.5 % and pulmonary embolism (PE) in 40.5 %. The most common comorbidities were the various types of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension; 45.5 %), hypertension (42.3 %) and dyslipidaemia (21.1 %). Following the index VTE, a large proportion of patients received initial therapy with heparin (73.2 %), almost half received a vitamin K antagonist (48.7 %) and nearly a quarter received a DOAC (24.5 %). Almost a quarter of all presentations were for recurrent VTE, with >80 % of previous episodes having occurred more than 12 months prior to baseline. In conclusion, PREFER in VTE has provided contemporary insights into VTE patients and their real-world management, including their baseline characteristics, risk factors, disease history, symptoms and signs, initial therapy and outcomes

Spatial Ramifications of Crop Selection: Water Quality and Biomass Energy

The use of GIS in concert with simple or complex simulation modeling provides an unparalleled way to generate new data and to help a variety of audiences understand spatial patterns of data. From improved understanding, policy incentives can be crafted to reduce adverse environmental impacts of agricultural production at lower costs than would be necessary otherwise. In this chapter, two case studies demonstrate how GIS and modeling can be used to understand how crop selection and soils interact to effect environmental outcomes across an agricultural landscape. We addressed the needs of two distinctly different audiences: (1) a public drinking water supplier faced with increasing nitrate in a ground water source and (2) variety of stakeholders involved with planning a new biomass conversion facility to produce renewable fuels from grain or cellulosic feedstock. In both cases, the GIS output documents the benefits of the perennial legume alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in particular landscape areas, and provides a mechanism to compare alfalfa with corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.). GIS modeling files are attached (below) in a zipped folder (size \u3e 2.8 Gbytes)

Survival, Height Growth, and Phytoextraction Potential of Hybrid Poplar and Russian Olive (Elaeagnus Angustifolia L.) Established on Soils Varying in Salinity in North Dakota, USA

Salt-affected soils in the Northern Great Plains, USA, can impact the long-term survival and growth of trees recommended for agroforestry systems, with Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.) being one of few options that survives on these sites. Similarly, hybrid poplars have been used for phytotechnologies on high-salinity soils throughout the world. The objective of this study was to test the survival, height growth, and phytoextraction potential of eight hybrid poplar clones (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. × P. nigra L. ‘Robusta’, ‘DN17’, ‘DN182’, ‘DN5’; P. deltoides × P. maximowiczii A. Henry ‘NC14104’, ‘NC14106’; P. nigra × P. maximowiczii ‘NM2’, ‘NM6’) versus Russian olive grown on soils categorized according to initial salinity levels: low (0.1 to 3.9 dS m−1), medium (4.0 to 5.9 dS m−1), and high (6.0 to 10.0 dS m−1). Seven trees per genotype were grown in each salinity treatment at a spacing of 3 × 3 m for four years in Burleigh County, North Dakota. Survival and height were determined following the first four growing seasons, and leaf phytoextraction potential of Al, Ca, Cd, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Zn was measured for one-year-old trees. Soil salinity decreased over time, reflecting the phytoextraction potential of the trees. Russian olive did not survive as well as expected, having lower overall survival than three of the hybrid poplar clones (‘DN17’, ‘DN5’, ‘NM6’). At the end of three years when trees were removed per a landowner maintenance agreement, 86%, 71%, and 43% of the Russian olive trees were alive in the low-, medium-, and high-salinity soils, respectively. At this time, ‘NM2’ was the only hybrid poplar clone with similar survival to Russian olive in the high-salinity soils. Russian olive had greater Na, Cd, and Fe leaf concentrations than the hybrid poplar clones, but it also had the worst uptake of Ca and Mg of all genotypes. For hybrid poplar, the P. deltoides × P. nigra genomic group had the broadest clonal variability among all traits, with ‘Robusta’ and ‘DN182’ exhibiting great potential for establishment on high-salinity soils. ‘Robusta’ and ‘DN17’ are the same genotype but they came from different nursery sources (i.e., hence their different nomenclature), and they did not differ for height nor leaf phytoextraction. Populus deltoides × P. maximowiczii clones were not suitable for the soil conditions and silvicultural applications (e.g., tree shelters) of the current study, while P. nigra × P. maximowiczii clones exhibited the most stable performance across all years and salinity treatments. Both ‘NM2’ and ‘NM6’ had superior fourth-year survival and height, as well as average or above average phytoextraction of all elements tested

Analysis of the possibility of increasing the share of public transport in the provincial passenger travels on the example of the Pomerania region

Podział zadań przewozowych pomiędzy dostępne środki transportu jest jednym z kluczowych wyzwań przy opracowaniu Planów Transportowych w regionach. Stan aktualny i prognozy prowadzone na obszarze Unii Europejskiej wskazują, że w najbliższych latach dominującym środkiem transportu pasażerskiego będzie samochód osobowy z zarysowującą się tendencją wzrostową. Dlatego bardzo istotnym działaniem przy budowie zintegrowanego systemu transportu w województwie jest zwiększenie udziału transportu zbiorowego w wojewódzkich przewozach pasażerskich, bądź zatrzymanie jego trendu spadkowego. Przed tym wyzwaniem stanęli autorzy Planów Zrównoważonego Rozwoju Publicznego Transportu Zbiorowego w całej Polsce. W referacie przedstawiono obecne trendy zmian podziału zadań przewozowych w wybranych krajach, charakterystykę przewozów pasażerskich w województwie pomorskim oraz prognozy zmian udziału poszczególnych gałęzi transportu w podróżach międzypowiatowych. Ponadto zaprezentowano opracowane w ramach formułowania Planu Transportowego warianty rozwoju sieci transportu zbiorowego, możliwe efekty ich wdrożenia na podział zadań przewozowych oraz spróbowano odpowiedzieć na pytanie, jaka powinna być rola poszczególnych rodzajów transportu zbiorowego w realizacji wojewódzkich przewozów pasażerskich.Modal split between the available means of transport is one of the key challenges in developing Transport Plans in regions. Current status and forecasts conducted in the European Union show that in the coming years, the dominant mean of passenger transport would be a car with impending upward trend. It is therefore very important while constructing an integrated transport system in the region to increase the share of public transport in the regional passenger or stop its downward trend. This challenge faced authors of Plans for Sustainable Development Public Transport in Poland. The paper presents the current trends in modal split in selected countries, characteristics of passenger transport in the Pomerania province and forecast changes in the share of each mode of travel. Moreover the paper presents, proposed during formulating of transport plan, options for development of public transport networks and possible effects of their implementation on the modal split. The authors are trying to answer the question concerning the expected role of different types of pu blic transport in the implementation of regional passenger transport