Arming shoes of the fifteenth century

Military footwear for the fifteenth century includes arming shoes worn under sabatons. Written sources suggest arming shoes and footwear used for fighting were ordinary shoes adapted for the purpose. Archaeological footwear was examined for signs of such modifications. Medieval shoe technology is presented, showing the range of footwear and its uses and gait biomechanics. Based on experiences from re-enactors wearing armours, medieval shoe styles are discussed for appropriateness as arming shoes. The question of why medieval military footwear shows no purposed development is addressed

Conformity Hinders the Evolution of Cooperation on Scale-Free Networks

We study the effects of conformity, the tendency of humans to imitate locally common behaviors, in the evolution of cooperation when individuals occupy the vertices of a graph and engage in the one-shot Prisoner's Dilemma or the Snowdrift game with their neighbors. Two different graphs are studied: rings (one-dimensional lattices with cyclic boundary conditions) and scale-free networks of the Barabasi-Albert type. The proposed evolutionary-graph model is studied both by means of Monte Carlo simulations and an extended pair-approximation technique. We find improved levels of cooperation when evolution is carried on rings and individuals imitate according to both the traditional pay-off bias and a conformist bias. More important, we show that scale-free networks are no longer powerful amplifiers of cooperation when fair amounts of conformity are introduced in the imitation rules of the players. Such weakening of the cooperation-promoting abilities of scale-free networks is the result of a less biased flow of information in scale-free topologies, making hubs more susceptible of being influenced by less-connected neighbors.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure

Feeding sainfoin to goats – influence on milk and cheese quality and yield

Although the administration of sainfoin is associated with anthelmintic effects, information on the consequences of feeding this legume on product quality is scarce. In the present study we looked at milk quality and yield of goats fed either sainfoin or a non-tanniferous control forage. Twelve lactating goats of the alpine breed were used for the study. They received grass/clover hay for a period of 15 days (grass clover feeding period, GCFP). Then the feed was switched to sainfoin hay (approx. 90 % of daily intake) for another 15 days (sainfoin feeding period, SFP). Both feeds were supplemented with concentrates in order to guarantee isoproteic and isoenergetic feeding throughout the trial. Milk yield and quality (fat, protein, energy and urea) were determined for every goat at day 10 of the respective feeding periods. Furthermore, the milk of the animals from day 4 to 15 of the respective feeding periods (i.e. hay/grass, sainfoin) was transformed to cheese. There was no difference in milk yield between GCFP and SFP (1.54 and 1.37 kg for GCFP and SFP respectively, p=0.17). Sainfoin feeding was associated with a significantly higher (P<0.001) milk protein concentration when compared to grass/clover feeding. Also, compared to GCFP, milk fat content was significantly lower in SFP (p<0.05). Cheese yield was numerically higher for SP when compared to GCP. A sensory panel evaluated the taste of the cheese produced from ‘sainfoin milk’ to be significantly different from cheese produced from ‘grass/clover milk’ (p<0.05). However, both types of cheese were judged to be equally tasty. We conclude that sainfoin feeding to goats has no negative influence on milk yield and has a positive effect on milk protein content

Health status inequality among immigrants in Switzerland

Objective: To assess self-rated health and impairments for six large immigrant groups (Germany, Italy, Kosovo, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey) in Switzerland. Methods: We used population-based survey data from the Swiss Migrant Health Survey 2010 and the Swiss Health Survey 2007. The sample comprised permanent residents aged 17 - 64 years (n = 14,637). Multivariate logistic regressions have been used to estimate odds ratios (OR). Results: Ill health and activities of daily living (ADL) impairments were associated with older age in all groups. However, nationals from Turkey and nationals from Kosovo were substantially more likely than Swiss to report ill health (OR = 1.05; CI = 1.02-1.09; P = 0.001 and OR = 1.05; CI = 1.01-1.10; P = 0.016) and ADL impairments (OR = 1.06; CI = 1.03-1.09; P = 0.000 and OR = 1.04; CI = 1.01-1.07; P = 0.004) with increasing age. Furthermore, Portuguese women were more likely (OR = 2.65; CI = 1.40-5.03; P = 0.003) to report ill health than Swiss women. Conclusions: Immigrant-specific preventive and health promotion initiatives should target vulnerable immigrants from Turkey, Portugal, and Kosovo. Furthermore, groups with few economic and psychosocial resources in the general population of Switzerland should be more involved in interventions to reduce health risk

Fruit and vegetable consumption among migrants in Switzerland

Abstract Objective To assess the relative risk of low daily fruit and vegetable consumption for six large migrant groups in Switzerland. Design Cross-sectional health survey carried out 2007 (Swiss Health Survey) and 2010 (Swiss Migrant Health Survey) in Switzerland. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate relative risk rates (RRR) of migrants relative to Swiss nationals. Setting Data obtained from representative samples of Swiss and foreign nationals living in Switzerland. Subjects A random sample (n 14637) of the Portuguese, German, Italian, Turkish, Serbian, Kosovan and Swiss permanent resident adult population (17-64 years old) was interviewed. Results The proportion of participants who adhered to the recommended fruit and vegetable consumption was below one-third in all study populations. Compared with Swiss nationals, the relative risk of low daily fruit and vegetable intake relative to recommended intake was higher in Turkish nationals (RRR = 2·92, 95 % CI 1·91, 4·48; P = 0·0000) and Kosovan nationals (RRR = 4·76, 95 % CI 3·01, 7·55; P = 0·0000). The respective relative risks of Portuguese, Serbian, German and Italian nationals were not significantly different from the Swiss reference group. Conclusions Initiatives for the promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption should continue to address the population at large. At the same time, programmes that are tailored to the specific needs of migrants from Turkey and Kosovo should be considere

« Je le vois, mais je ne le crois pas... ». Preuves et vérités dans les sciences formelles

Dans le cours d’une argumentation, la preuve devrait fournir un moyen indiscutable d’établir la vérité. Cela implique, que dès l’apparition de la preuve d’une affirmation, celle-ci devrait être acceptée par tous les interlocuteurs. Détenir une preuve reviendrait à posséder une stratégie gagnante dans une discussion contradictoire. Convaincre consisterait donc simplement à construire et présenter des preuves. Pourquoi les choses ne sont-elles pas si simples, notamment dans les sciences sociale..

Os Espaços e tempos educativos: suas implicações nas aprendizagens dos educandos

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Educação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação, Florianópolis, 2011Este trabalho apresenta "Os espaços e tempos educativos: suas implicações nas aprendizagens dos educandos" com o objetivo de investigar empiricamente a capacidade de inovação das escolas considerando as possibilidades existentes tanto teoricamente quanto legalmente a partir dos PCNs, visando suscitar possíveis discussões sobre a re-organização das práticas pedagógicas da escola pública. Para isso, o estudo procurou se embasar em indicativos legais e em autores como Arroyo (1986) e Beherens (1996) numa abordagem sobre a formação humana e sobre espaços educativos que respeitam a diversidade, respectivamente. Autores como Kenski (2000), Alves (2004), Cardoso e Souza (2007) trazem os espaços-tempos escolares como elementos fundamentais nas aprendizagens dos educandos, não os considerando espaços de neutralidade. Compreende-se ainda que os espaços e tempos de aprendizagens das instituições envolvidas no estudo podem, através de suas práticas pedagógicas, articular-se à realidade social do aluno, abrangendo toda a comunidade escolar para além dos muros da instituição. Este trabalho foi elaborado com base na pesquisa empírico-teórica com uma abordagem investigativa de enfoque qualitativo a partir da coleta de dados de três experiências bem sucedidas no Estado de Santa Catarina, as quais se destacaram na melhoria da qualidade de ensino de seus alunos e uma instituição de ensino pós-médio que se destaca pela forma que administra o tempo para o ensino profissionalizante de jovens rurais. Deste modo, foi possível analisar, através de uma visão ampliada, o que é considerado espaço escolar para estas instituições ao promoverem uma educação integradora com a participação de todos: comunidade, pais e alunos. Busca-se, ainda, provocar futuras reflexões sobre por que, apesar de se ter o amparo legal e teórico para diferentes possibilidades de organização do espaço e tempo escolar, poucos ousam utilizá-los no dia-a-dia das escolas

Sainfoin – New Data on Anthelmintic Effects and Production in Sheep and Goats

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are one of the most important problems affecting health and therefore performance and welfare in small ruminant husbandry. The control of these parasites in the past strongly relied on the repeated use of anthelmintic drugs. This has led to nematode populations which are resistant to most of the currently available anthelmintics. Furthermore customer’s demands for organic and residue free animal products are increasing. The aforementioned problems have given a strong impetus for the development of new non-chemical strategies to control GIN. Previous research has pointed out the anthelmintic potential of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) and other tanniferous (CT) feed sources in goats and lambs infected with GIN. A recent Swiss experiment focussed on the use of sainfoin and field bean (Vicia faba, cv. Scirocco) as single CT sources as well as in combination for additional synergic effects, to reduce periparturient GIN egg rise of ewes in late gestation and early lactation. Another experiment with Alpine goats concentrated on the influence of sainfoin on milk performance and cheese quality. The results of these experiments will be presented and discussed in connection with previous knowledge on (i) anthelmintic effects of sainfoin and (ii) the influence of sainfoin administration on performance

Une fourmi sur la plage. Remarques sur les concepts d’agent et de comportement

An ant, viewed as a behaving system, is quite simple. The apparent complexity of its behavior over time is largely a reflection of the complexity of the environment in which it finds itself.H. A. Simon [10](Une fourmi considérée comme un système comportemental, est un être relativement simple. L’apparente complexité des évolutions de son comportement est pour une grande part le reflet de la complexité de l’environnement dans lequel elle se trouve.) A man, viewed as a behaving system, is quite..