492 research outputs found
Critical Insights: The Hobbit (2016) edited by Stephen W. Potts
Book review by Martin Simonson of Critical Insights: The Hobbit (2016), edited by Stephen W. Pott
Flora of Middle-earth (2017) by Walter S. Judd and Graham A. Judd
Book review by Martin Simonson of Flora of Middle-earth (2017) by Walter S. Judd and Graham A. Jud
Flora of Middle-earth (2017) by Walter S. Judd and Graham A. Judd
Book review by Martin Simonson of Flora of Middle-earth (2017) by Walter S. Judd and Graham A. Jud
Engagiert bis ins hohe Alter? Organisationsgebundenes ehrenamtliches Engagement in der zweiten LebenshÀlfte
Der Anteil von Personen, die ein ehrenamtliches Engagement ausĂŒben, hat sich unter den 40- bis 85-JĂ€hrigen zwischen den Jahren 1996 und 2014 verdoppelt. Im Jahr 2014 zeigen sich deutliche Unterschiede im ehrenamtlichen Engagement nach Geschlecht, Bildung, Landesteil und Erwerbsstatus. Im Jahr 2014 ist jede vierte ehrenamtlich engagierte Person im Alter von 50 bis 85 Jahren in einer Seniorengruppe aktiv. Ein Drittel der im Jahr 2014 ehrenamtlich Engagierten hat in den letzten sechs Jahren ein neues Engagement aufgenommen und zwei Drittel ĂŒben ihr Engagement schon lĂ€nger als sechs Jahre aus
Aktive MobilitĂ€t und Gesundheit : Hintergrundbericht fĂŒr den nationalen Gesundheitsbericht 2015
Zu Fuss gehen und Velofahren tragen viel zu einer gesundheitsfördernden Bewegung bei.
Die vielfĂ€ltigen positiven Gesundheitseffekte regelmĂ€ssiger Bewegung sind heute umfassend belegt. Ob in der Freizeit oder im Alltag, zu Fuss gehen und Velofahren - so genannte aktive MobilitĂ€t - können viel zu einer gesundheitsfördernden Bewegung beitragen. Zahlreiche Faktoren beeinflussen indessen die Neigung, zu Fuss zu gehen oder mit dem Velo zu fahren, darunter Wegeigenschaften, Alter, Fitness, aber auch Verkehrssicherheit und ganz allgemein die Merkmale von Quartieren und StĂ€dten. Die verĂ€nderbaren strukturellen Faktoren, insbesondere die Verkehrsinfrastruktur und -Sicherheit stehen im Zentrum zeitgemĂ€sser Förderung der aktiven MobilitĂ€t. Aus Sicht der Gesundheitspolitik ist eine intersektorielle Zusammenarbeit zwischen Gesundheitssektor und Verkehrs- und StĂ€dteplanung erstrebenswert. Bei den Ăberlegungen werden dadurch auch Gesundheitsfolgen fokussiert
Arboreal Tradition and Subversion: An Ecocritical Reading of Shakespeareâs Portrayal of Trees, Woods and Forests
This paper analyses from an ecocritical standpoint the role of trees, woods and forests and their symbolism in William Shakespeareâs Hamlet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Midsummer Nightâs Dream, Richard II and The Tempest. The analysis begins with an outline of the representation of trees on stage to continue with a âclose readingâ of the mentioned plays, clearly distinguishing individual trees from woods and forests. Individual types of trees may represent death, sadness, sorcery and premonitions, or serve as meeting places, while forests and woods are frequently portrayed as settings which create an atmosphere of confusion, false appearances, danger and magic. This reflects a long-standing historical connection between trees and forests and the supernatural in literature and culture. However, while individual trees largely reflect traditional symbology, conventional interpretations are often subverted in Shakespeareâs treatment of forests and woods. From all this we may infer that Shakespeare was not only familiar with the traditions associated to individual tree species and forests in general, but also that he made conscious and active use of these in order to enhance the meaning of an action, reinforce character traits, further the plot and create a specific atmosphere. More subtly, the collective arboreal environments can also be interpreted as spaces in which superstitions and older societal models are questioned in favour of a more rational and reasonable understanding of the world
Improved remote sensing methods to detect northern wild rice (Zizania palustris L.)
Declining populations of Zizania palustris L. (northern wildrice, or wildrice) during
the last century drives the demand for new and innovative techniques to support monitoring of
this culturally and ecologically significant crop wild relative. We trained three wildrice detection
models in R and Google Earth Engine using data from annual aquatic vegetation surveys in
northern Minnesota. Three di erent training datasets, varying in the definition of wildrice presence,
were combined with Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic
aperture radar (SAR) imagery to map wildrice in 2015 using random forests. Spectral predictors
were derived from phenologically important time periods of emergence (JuneâJuly) and peak harvest
(AugustâSeptember). The range of the Vertical Vertical (VV) polarization between the two time
periods was consistently the top predictor. Model outputs were evaluated using both point and
area-based validation (polygon). While all models performed well in the point validation with
percent correctly classified ranging from 83.8% to 91.1%, we found polygon validation necessary to
comprehensively assess wildrice detection accuracy. Our practical approach highlights a variety of
applications that can be applied to guide field excursions and estimate the extent of occurrence at
landscape scales. Further testing and validation of the methods we present may support multiyear
monitoring which is foundational for the preservation of wildrice for future generations
The Milky Way in X-rays for an outside observer: Log(N)-Log(S) and Luminosity Function of X-ray binaries from RXTE/ASM data
We study the Log(N)-Log(S) and X-ray luminosity function in the 2-10 keV
energy band, and the spatial (3-D) distribution of bright, log(L_X) > 34-35
erg/s, X-ray binaries in the Milky Way. In agreement with theoretical
expectations and earlier results we found significant differences between the
spatial distributions of low (LMXB) and high (HMXB) mass X-ray binaries. The
volume density of LMXB sources peaks strongly at the Galactic Bulge. HMXBs tend
to avoid the inner 3-4 kpc of the Galaxy, HMXBs are more concentrated towards
the Galactic Plane and show clear signatures of the spiral structure in their
spatial distribution. LMXB sources have a flatter Log(N)-Log(S) distribution
and luminosity function than HMXBs. The integrated 2-10 keV luminosities of
X-ray binaries, averaged over 1996--2000, are 2-3 * 10^39 (LMXB) and 2-3 *
10^38 (HMXB) erg/s. Normalised to the stellar mass and the star formation rate,
respectively, these correspond to 5 * 10^28 erg/s/M_sol for LMXBs and 5 * 10^37
erg/s/(M_sol/yr) for HMXBs. Due to the shallow slopes of the luminosity
functions the integrated emission of X-ray binaries is dominated by the 5-10
most luminous sources which determine the appearance of the Milky Way in the
standard X-ray band for an outside observer. In particular variability of
individual sources or an outburst of a bright transient source can increase the
integrated luminosity of the Milky Way by as much as a factor of ~2. Although
the average LMXB luminosity function shows a break near the Eddington
luminosity for a 1.4 M_sol neutron star, at least 11 sources showed episodes of
super-Eddington luminosity during ASM observations. We provide the maps of
distribution of X-ray binaries in the Milky Way in various projections, which
can be compared to images of nearby galaxies taken by CHANDRA and XMM-Newton.Comment: 23 pages, 19 figures, accepted by A&
Comparative effectiveness of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue as add-on therapies to sulphonylurea among diabetes patients in the Asia-Pacific region: a systematic review
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rising globally, and it induces a substantial public health burden to the healthcare systems. Its optimal control is one of the most significant challenges faced by physicians and policy-makers. Whereas some of the established oral hypoglycaemic drug classes like biguanide, sulphonylureas, thiazolidinediones have been extensively used, the newer agents like dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and the human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues have recently emerged as suitable options due to their similar efficacy and favorable side effect profiles. These agents are widely recognized alternatives to the traditional oral hypoglycaemic agents or insulin, especially in conditions where they are contraindicated or unacceptable to patients. Many studies which evaluated their clinical effects, either alone or as add-on agents, were conducted in Western countries. There exist few reviews on their effectiveness in the Asia-Pacific region. The purpose of this systematic review is to address the comparative effectiveness of these new classes of medications as add-on therapies to sulphonylurea drugs among diabetic patients in the Asia-Pacific countries. We conducted a thorough literature search of the MEDLINE and EMBASE from the inception of these databases to August 2013, supplemented by an additional manual search using reference lists from research studies, meta-analyses and review articles as retrieved by the electronic databases. A total of nine randomized controlled trials were identified and described in this article. It was found that DPP-4 inhibitors and GLP-1 analogues were in general effective as add-on therapies to existing sulphonylurea therapies, achieving HbA1c reductions by a magnitude of 0.59â0.90% and 0.77â1.62%, respectively. Few adverse events including hypoglycaemic attacks were reported. Therefore, these two new drug classes represent novel therapies with great potential to be major therapeutic options. Future larger-scale research should be conducted among other Asia-Pacific region to evaluate their efficacy in other ethnic groups
Historical Distribution and Molecular Diversity of Bacillus anthracis, Kazakhstan
This study provides useful baseline data for guiding future disease control programs
- âŠ