Identifying the community structure of the international food-trade multi network

Achieving international food security requires improved understanding of how international trade networks connect countries around the world through the import-export flows of food commodities. The properties of food trade networks are still poorly documented, especially from a multi-network perspective. In particular, nothing is known about the community structure of food networks, which is key to understanding how major disruptions or 'shocks' would impact the global food system. Here we find that the individual layers of this network have densely connected trading groups, a consistent characteristic over the period 2001 to 2011. We also fit econometric models to identify social, economic and geographic factors explaining the probability that any two countries are co-present in the same community. Our estimates indicate that the probability of country pairs belonging to the same food trade community depends more on geopolitical and economic factors -- such as geographical proximity and trade agreements co-membership -- than on country economic size and/or income. This is in sharp contrast with what we know about bilateral-trade determinants and suggests that food country communities behave in ways that can be very different from their non-food counterparts.Comment: 47 pages, 19 figure

MODEL OF EDUCATION-DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL ABILITY OF CHILDREN OF AGE 4-6 YEARS

The childhood years represent one of the most important stages in the human development. The purpose of the study is to test the efficiency of this social model-education through a gymnastic program for preschool children. For the realization of our study, have selected 60 children from four Tirana’s preschools city, that seems to be the bigger city, center of economic, social, administrative, culture, academic, industrial, medial of Albania, with purpose to have a big representation of all social-economics layers. The children are separated in two equal groups. In the experiment group will be implemented the education program with basic gymnastics elements, which will last twelve weeks, twice a week for an hour. . Control group, will follow a free program by using preschool infrastructure under educators supervision. After program intervention, in the social skills indicators of experiment group seems an improvement of results, while positive or negative changes in control group are inconsiderable to influence in final result. This is reflected in results of t-test between both groups. Based on results, were found significant changes between genders in experiment groups first phases questionnaire. They were noticed in social interaction, (t=-3.61, p=0.001); in social action (t=-7.71, p=.000), social independence (t=4.49, p=0.000); selfish/blast (t=-3.97, p=0.001); attention problems (t=-3.87, p=0.001); antisocial/aggressive (t=-3.40, p=0.003); general behavior problems (t=-2.53, p= 0.019).  Article visualizations

Chemico-mechanical improvement of bentonite barriers for pollutant containment

Pollution control represents one of the main problems of public interest in all industrialised countries. Since the 1970s, when the engineering of waste containment began, the overall objective of Environmental Geotechnics was to limit contaminant discharge to groundwater and subsoil. Since the 1990s design engineers and environmental agencies have shown a growing interest in the use of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) as an alternative to compacted clays in cover systems or in bottom lining of waste containment facilities because they have very low hydraulic conductivity to water and relatively low cost. GCLs contain a thin layer of sodium bentonite with a dry thickness between 5 and 10 mm, sandwiched between two geotextiles or glued to a geomembrane, GM. The excellent hydraulic performances of GCLs have to be attributed to bentonite characteristics and, since these last are greatly influenced by the chemical composition of the environment surrounding the barrier and by the state parameters, the performances of GCLs can be altered, and then worsened, by a simple variation of the chemical or physical boundary conditions. Aimed at solving this last issue, clay liners and GCLs have undergone great change during the last two decades, with new material being introduced (i.e. polymers) and new design methods being adopted (i.e. membrane behaviour investigation, contaminant diffusion estimation). The research project developed during the Ph.D. has been focused on bentonite barriers. The term "bentonite barriers" includes bentonite or bentonite-based barriers which find application both in urban waste landfill, hazardous or radioactive wastes final disposal and in hydrocarbon containment. The developed theoretical and experimental study has had the aim of evaluating the possible improvement of containment performance of the bentonite barriers, towards standard and non standard liquids, acting on their state parameters, chemical composition, and boundary conditions at installation. The contents of the thesis are reported below: Chapter 1 - Bentonite barriers. This chapter is an introduction to the topic of the research activity: the improvement of contaminant containment performances of the bentonite barrier. Chapter 1 gives a phenomenological and physical description of the mineralogical, chemical and physical properties of sodium and calcium bentonite. Moreover, the main features and issues concerning Geosynthetic Clay Liners, and bentonite barriers in general, are introduced. Chapter 2 - Containment performances of natural and polymer-modified bentonite barriers subjected to physical pre-treatments. The role of physical pre-treatments, such as pre-hydration, pre-consolidation and salt removal, applied to sodium and polymer modified bentonites, has been analyzed in the Paper reported in chapter 2, titled: "THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL PRETREATMENTS ON THE HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY OF NATURAL AND POLYMER MODIFIED SODIUM BENTONITES". Moreover, the effect of the presence or absence of needling across the bentonite layer has been studied. All these variables have been shown to influence the hydraulic performances of bentonite through hydraulic conductivity change in both short and long term conditions. Physical pre-treatments and polymer addiction, in fact, influence the swelling behaviour of bentonite and its response to the cation exchange phenomenon. Chapter 3 - Osmotic and swelling properties of bentonite barriers. In the Paper included in this chapter, titled "COUPLED CHEMICAL-HYDRAULIC-MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF BENTONITES", a theoretical approach has been proposed in order to derive constitutive equations which describe the coupled chemical-hydraulic-mechanical behaviour of bentonite barriers, with the aim to assess their long term performance. The phenomenological parameters that govern the transport of electrolyte solutions through bentonites, i.e. the hydraulic conductivity, the reflection coefficient, which is also called the chemico-osmotic efficiency coefficient, and the osmotic effective diffusion coefficient, have been measured through laboratory tests on a natural sodium bentonite The obtained results have been interpreted by assuming that the microscopic deviations of the pore solution state variables from their average values are negligible. In this way, it is possible to interpret the macroscopic behaviour on the basis of the physical and chemical properties of the bentonite mineralogical components. At the end of the chapter two further chemico-osmotic tests are described aimed at analysing (1) the osmotic behaviour of calcium bentonite and (2) the effects induced on osmotic behaviour by stress-strain properties. Moreover, the osmotic results are confronted with data from literature. Finally, the design of a new osmotic apparatus to measure both the swelling pressure and the reflection coefficient is proposed. Chapter 4 - Hydrocarbon containment performances of natural and polymer-modified bentonite barriers. Background information on hydrocarbon behaviour in soils is reported in the first part of this chapter. In particular, the effects of capillary forces on the distribution of immiscible fluids in porous media and the theoretical aspects, regarding the formation of tactoids induced by the low dielectric constant that characterizes the most of hydrocarbon species, are studied. An experimental study is presented in the Paper titled "HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF GCLS WITH DIESEL OIL AND POLYMER TREATMENT PROPOSAL", which is aimed at evaluating the hydraulic performance of a needle-punched GCL using both standard liquids (i.e. de-ionized water) and diesel oil in order to estimate the change in hydraulic conductivity and swelling ability upon contact or permeation with hydrocarbons. Moreover, the hydraulic conductivity to diesel oil of GCL samples saturated at different initial gravimetric water contents was investigated with the aim to analyse the effect of initial water saturation on hydrocarbon containment performances. Finally, the swelling and hydraulic performances to diesel oil of an innovative material, obtained by mixing sodium bentonite with a polymer, were measured. Chapter 5 - Containment performances of a bentonite-based barrier constituted of municipal solid waste bottom ashes. The research described in the Paper included in this chapter, titled "REUSE OF MSWI BOTTOM ASH MIXED WITH NATURAL SODIUM BENTONITE AS LANDFILL COVER MATERIAL" has the aim of evaluating the reuse of incinerator slag, mixed with sodium bentonite, for landfill capping system components. A chemical, hydraulic and mechanical characterization was performed on pure bottom ash (BA) samples from an incinerator in the North of Italy and on the BA-bentonite mixture. This study qualifies the BA-bentonite mixture as a suitable material for landfill cover in Italy. Moreover, owing to the low release of toxic compounds from BA, the proposed cover system does not affect the leachate quality in the landfill. Chapter 6 - Finite difference modelling of diffusive flux of Calcium through a bentonite barrier in in-situ conditions. The evidence of the strong degradation induced in the hydraulic performances of sodium bentonite barriers by the cation exchange phenomenon has been highlighted in the previous chapters. This experimental result underlines the need to study the transitional development of the cation exchange phenomenon with the aim to compare that to the period in which landfill barrier performances have to be guaranteed in in-situ conditions. The mathematical study developed in this chapter is focused on the evaluation of the role of the diffusive component of Calcium flux in the cation exchange phenomenon which can develop in a sodium bentonite barrier, placed in an environment inexorably rich in chemical compounds containing soluble Calcium (i.e. the natural soil, the aquifer, the drainage layer saturated with waste leachate or raining water

POMP in Circumstance: Paradox, Oppositions, Metaphors and Philosophy in the Context of Adult Basic Education

The ability to think fluidly with a variety of oppositional forms is essential to both critical and creative thinking. Loaded oppositions such as science vs. humanities, reason vs. emotion, male vs. female and good vs. evil become hindrances to thought when they are held too rigidly as dichotomies. Learning to work with the rich flow of oppositions involves patient exploration and an openness to the emergence of paradoxical truths rooted in the opposition. However, paradoxical thinking is not the only method for flexing fixed oppositions; there are many other types of moves that one can make when thinking creatively with oppositional forms. The theoretical goal of this project is to develop a rich framework for supporting creative oppositional thinking. The practical goal of this project is to channel the energy derived from the development of the theoretical framework toward enhancing the educational process resulting in applications ready to deploy in the real world. Thus, the project seeks to integrate methods for paradoxical and oppositional thinking, rich metaphors for personal development and themes from academic philosophy into the context of adult basic education. The focal outcomes of the project are a set of educational practices and a guide to help teachers employ these practices in their work

Chemico-mechanical improvement of bentonite barriers for pollutant containment.

Pollution control represents one of the main problems of public interest in all industrialised countries. Since the 1970s, when the engineering of waste containment began, the overall objective of Environmental Geotechnics was to limit contaminant discharge to groundwater and subsoil. Since the 1990s design engineers and environmental agencies have shown a growing interest in the use of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) as an alternative to compacted clays in cover systems or in bottom lining of waste containment facilities because they have very low hydraulic conductivity to water and relatively low cost. GCLs contain a thin layer of sodium bentonite with a dry thickness between 5 and 10 mm, sandwiched between two geotextiles or glued to a geomembrane, GM. The excellent hydraulic performances of GCLs have to be attributed to bentonite characteristics and, since these last are greatly influenced by the chemical composition of the environment surrounding the barrier and by the state parameters, the performances of GCLs can be altered, and then worsened, by a simple variation of the chemical or physical boundary conditions. Aimed at solving this last issue, clay liners and GCLs have undergone great change during the last two decades, with new material being introduced (i.e. polymers) and new design methods being adopted (i.e. membrane behaviour investigation, contaminant diffusion estimation). The research project developed during the Ph.D. has been focused on bentonite barriers. The term “bentonite barriers” includes bentonite or bentonite-based barriers which find application both in urban waste landfill, hazardous or radioactive wastes final disposal and in hydrocarbon containment. The developed theoretical and experimental study has had the aim of evaluating the possible improvement of containment performance of the bentonite barriers, towards standard and non standard liquids, acting on their state parameters, chemical composition, and boundary conditions at installation. The contents of the thesis are reported below: Chapter 1 – Bentonite barriers. This chapter is an introduction to the topic of the research activity: the improvement of contaminant containment performances of the bentonite barrier. Chapter 1 gives a phenomenological and physical description of the mineralogical, chemical and physical properties of sodium and calcium bentonite. Moreover, the main features and issues concerning Geosynthetic Clay Liners, and bentonite barriers in general, are introduced. Chapter 2 – Containment performances of natural and polymer-modified bentonite barriers subjected to physical pre-treatments. The role of physical pre-treatments, such as pre-hydration, pre-consolidation and salt removal, applied to sodium and polymer modified bentonites, has been analyzed in the Paper reported in chapter 2, titled: “THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL PRETREATMENTS ON THE HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY OF NATURAL AND POLYMER MODIFIED SODIUM BENTONITES”. Moreover, the effect of the presence or absence of needling across the bentonite layer has been studied. All these variables have been shown to influence the hydraulic performances of bentonite through hydraulic conductivity change in both short and long term conditions. Physical pre-treatments and polymer addiction, in fact, influence the swelling behaviour of bentonite and its response to the cation exchange phenomenon. Chapter 3 – Osmotic and swelling properties of bentonite barriers. In the Paper included in this chapter, titled “COUPLED CHEMICAL-HYDRAULIC-MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF BENTONITES”, a theoretical approach has been proposed in order to derive constitutive equations which describe the coupled chemical-hydraulic-mechanical behaviour of bentonite barriers, with the aim to assess their long term performance. The phenomenological parameters that govern the transport of electrolyte solutions through bentonites, i.e. the hydraulic conductivity, the reflection coefficient, which is also called the chemico-osmotic efficiency coefficient, and the osmotic effective diffusion coefficient, have been measured through laboratory tests on a natural sodium bentonite The obtained results have been interpreted by assuming that the microscopic deviations of the pore solution state variables from their average values are negligible. In this way, it is possible to interpret the macroscopic behaviour on the basis of the physical and chemical properties of the bentonite mineralogical components. At the end of the chapter two further chemico-osmotic tests are described aimed at analysing (1) the osmotic behaviour of calcium bentonite and (2) the effects induced on osmotic behaviour by stress-strain properties. Moreover, the osmotic results are confronted with data from literature. Finally, the design of a new osmotic apparatus to measure both the swelling pressure and the reflection coefficient is proposed. Chapter 4 – Hydrocarbon containment performances of natural and polymer-modified bentonite barriers. Background information on hydrocarbon behaviour in soils is reported in the first part of this chapter. In particular, the effects of capillary forces on the distribution of immiscible fluids in porous media and the theoretical aspects, regarding the formation of tactoids induced by the low dielectric constant that characterizes the most of hydrocarbon species, are studied. An experimental study is presented in the Paper titled “HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF GCLS WITH DIESEL OIL AND POLYMER TREATMENT PROPOSAL”, which is aimed at evaluating the hydraulic performance of a needle-punched GCL using both standard liquids (i.e. de-ionized water) and diesel oil in order to estimate the change in hydraulic conductivity and swelling ability upon contact or permeation with hydrocarbons. Moreover, the hydraulic conductivity to diesel oil of GCL samples saturated at different initial gravimetric water contents was investigated with the aim to analyse the effect of initial water saturation on hydrocarbon containment performances. Finally, the swelling and hydraulic performances to diesel oil of an innovative material, obtained by mixing sodium bentonite with a polymer, were measured. Chapter 5 – Containment performances of a bentonite-based barrier constituted of municipal solid waste bottom ashes. The research described in the Paper included in this chapter, titled “REUSE OF MSWI BOTTOM ASH MIXED WITH NATURAL SODIUM BENTONITE AS LANDFILL COVER MATERIAL” has the aim of evaluating the reuse of incinerator slag, mixed with sodium bentonite, for landfill capping system components. A chemical, hydraulic and mechanical characterization was performed on pure bottom ash (BA) samples from an incinerator in the North of Italy and on the BA-bentonite mixture. This study qualifies the BA-bentonite mixture as a suitable material for landfill cover in Italy. Moreover, owing to the low release of toxic compounds from BA, the proposed cover system does not affect the leachate quality in the landfill. Chapter 6 – Finite difference modelling of diffusive flux of Calcium through a bentonite barrier in in-situ conditions. The evidence of the strong degradation induced in the hydraulic performances of sodium bentonite barriers by the cation exchange phenomenon has been highlighted in the previous chapters. This experimental result underlines the need to study the transitional development of the cation exchange phenomenon with the aim to compare that to the period in which landfill barrier performances have to be guaranteed in in-situ conditions. The mathematical study developed in this chapter is focused on the evaluation of the role of the diffusive component of Calcium flux in the cation exchange phenomenon which can develop in a sodium bentonite barrier, placed in an environment inexorably rich in chemical compounds containing soluble Calcium (i.e. the natural soil, the aquifer, the drainage layer saturated with waste leachate or raining water)

Alien Registration- Puma, Ancelo (Rockland, Knox County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/13416/thumbnail.jp

An Etruscan Lasa Mirror

"The Museum of Art and Archaeology recently received the gift of an Etruscan engraved bronze mirror. It complements two related Etruscan objects acquired earlier by the museum: a rare bone mirror handle, carved with figures in relief, and another engraved bronze mirror depicting Hercle and Turms (the Etruscan names for the Greek characters Herakles and Hermes). Both of the museum's mirrors and circular discs with small tangs originally inserted into separate handles made of bone, ivory or wood. One side of the disc was brightly polished to reflect the viewer's image; the other side was often engraved with mythological scenes or characters. These scenes provide valuable information about Etruscan religion, culture, and (because they are often inscribed) language."--First paragraph.Includes bibliographical reference

JUEGOS EDUCATIVOS EN EL APRENDIZAJE SIGNIFICATIVO DE EDUCACIÓN RELIGIOSA EN EL COLEGIO PÚBLICO MILITAR MARIANO IGNACIO PRADO – HUÁNUCO 2016

Con el trabajo de investigación afirmamos que los juegos educativos ayudan en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes además favorece en ellos actividades básicas como: pactar y llegar a consensos, a saber esperar y a discutir en vez de pelear. La Educación Religiosa prioriza la integración humana, de inclusión y de educación a lo largo de toda la vida de manera integral. Por este motivo se une a todo el Proyecto Educativo Nacional y propone construir a partir de acciones concretas personas sociales, éticos y con valores que orienten, desarrollen y evalúen sus prácticas educativas. El trabajo de investigación se realizó en el Colegio Público Militar “Mariano Ignacio Prado – Huánuco 2016”, donde la realidad educativa es diferente a otros colegios estatales. Primero porque es internado; segundo, la mayoría de ellos se preparan para la vida militar y tercero, un 30% de estudiantes que tienen problemas en casa (hijos de padres separados, problemas conductuales, ludopatía, internet, alcohol, drogadicción, etc.) y los padres optan por educarlos con rigor con un sistema militar. Hemos trabajado con ellos sin distinción de credo, modo de vida, confesión religiosa, tendencia agnóstica o indiferencia religiosa. Nos ha permitido vivir y hacer con ellos una comunidad ecuménica. Con ellos hemos dialogado, estudiado, leído y orado con la palabra de Dios; en actitud humilde para dar testimonio del amor de Cristo en nuestra vida personal, familiar, eclesial y social. Para hacer frente a esta problemática nos formulamos la siguiente pregunta de investigación. ¿Cuál es el nivel de influencia de los juegos educativos en el aprendizaje significativo de los estudiantes del área de Educación Religiosa en el Colegio Público Militar “Mariano Ignacio Prado” – Huánuco 2016?Trabajo academic

Fragments of Mother

daughter, i rock your empty cradle & ask myself, how long will we make war