3,464 research outputs found

    Rural Development: Does Macedonia Need a New Approach

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    Community/Rural/Urban Development,

    The Socio-Demographic Context of Rural Poverty

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    A drop in standard of living does not have an equal influence on the way of life in different environments. So, for example, in more urban environments the possibility of realising greater purchasing power gets harder, and in others (economically underdeveloped) the minimal funds for food, clothing, footwear, children's education, health care etc. decrease. Poor households in rural environments have existed throughout the years. They exist today, but with different characteristics and dimensions than in the past. Chronically poor, the most vulnerable categories in the village are the households of elderly people. They represent a serious economic and social problem. Regarding the economic plan, the unexploited available capacities (cultivable soil), and on the social plan they either earn no income or a modest income.A significant number of agricultural households in the village, run the risk of becoming poorer. The participation of cash income from property is decreasing, and the participation of income from social transfers and the value of natural expenditure is increasing. The main characteristics of these households are: low education level of the members, none of them are employed, bad quality of the owned land, the elderly. There is a significant increase and profound poverty in the households of mountain village districts. Beside low incomes, the households do not have any possibility of providing enough income for a decent living, there is a greater influence of the inaccessibility of basic living conditions (road, transport connections, health care, education, postal services etc.)

    The Spiritual Formation of Recent College Graduates and Residence Life Influences Attributed to the Spiritual Formation

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    This study investigated the spiritual formation experience of alumni from a Midwest Christian college six months to five years after graduation and the spiritual formation factors they attribute to their Residence Life experience. The data revealed that alumni persist in their Christian faith, and seek growth in Christian beliefs, attitudes, and experiences. Findings regarding Residence Life were consistent with the literature, revealing that the most significant source of spiritual formation for alumni are peer relationships, interactions, and conversations. Programming was not a significant factor in a student’s spiritual formation. This study led to several recommendations for application including a re-orienting of Residence Life’s mindset regarding spiritual formation. This mindset would conclude that the most spiritually significant role is that of community facilitation and development, the context for most spiritual formation. Recommendations for further study include studying specific aspects of peer relationships, interactions, and conversations that may be spiritually influential

    Winter and Spring Staging Ecology of Mallards in South Central Nebraska

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    Large numbers of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) winter in or migrate through middle and northern latitudes of the midcontinent region in North America. Although an intensively studied species, the wintering and staging ecology of mallards north of traditional areas has received limited attention, leaving waterfowl administrators with limited information for developing management guidelines for mallard populations during these periods of the year. Mallard activity patterns, foraging strategy, and physical condition were studied on the Platte River in south central Nebraska from mid-December to early April, 1978-80. Local movements, time budgets, food habits, physiology, and energetics during winter and early spring provided an improved perspective of mallard requirements during these stages of the annual cycle. Weather conditions had a major influence on habitat use. Mallard use of the Platte River rose markedly during the mild winter of 1980 and disparity of age and sex ratios was lower than during the previous winter when conditions were more severe. Significant emigration occurred during prolonged periods of cold, which raised questions concerning establishment of traditional wintering grounds and interflyway movements of post-season banded birds. Riverine and canal roost habitats appeared to have similar geophysical characteristics but significantly different microclimates. The warmer canal microclimate attracted mallards during severe weather, but overcrowding, lack of aquatic food, and increased risk of predation caused most mallards to return to riverine habitats when weather conditions improved. The primary activity centers of adults and yearlings were canals and riverine habitats, respectively. Yearlings had lower roost fidelity and made more and longer exploratory flights. Females spent more time feeding than males; males were more alert, aggressive, and spent more time in comfort movements. Paired mallards displaced unpaired birds, suggesting an advantage for being paired during the winter period. Zea mays, Lemna minor, Polygonum spp., Echinochloa muricata, and Sorghum vulgare were the principal foods consumed during winter and spring migration. Mallards depended heavily on waste corn which formed 97% of the diet in agricultural habitats. The winter diet contained lower levels of nutrients than recommended for captive birds of wild stock, emphasizing the importance of access to aquatic feeding sites. Grazed corn stubble was the preferred agricultural habitat. Mallards lost weight throughout winter but attained prewinter levels during the staging period. Body and carcass weights followed weather trends; females gained weight before males. Gonadal weights remained low until spring. Initiation of female prebasic molt was related to pair status. Energy budgets of paired and unpaired birds were similar, although time budgets were different, suggesting that behavioral patterns optimized energy expenditure for maintenance and productive uses

    Lost relation between blood pressure and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D

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    Background: Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels have consistently been associated with hypertension. During the last decades there has been an unexplained reduction in blood pressure (BP) in Western countries. We therefore examined the relation between serum 25(OH)D and BP in the 7th survey of the Tromsø study 2015/2016. Methods: Blood pressure and serum 25(OH)D were measured and life-style factors registered in 15,951 subjects not using BP medication. Results: In unadjusted analyses there was a significant negative association between serum 25(OH)D and systolic and diastolic BP that disappeared after adjusting for relevant confounders. This finding is in contrast to our previous reports on 25(OH)D and BP. We therefore cross-sectionally re-analyzed non-smoking (due to interference by smoking in the 25(OH)D assay) subjects not using BP medication from the 4th survey in 1994/1995 (n ¼ 4108), 6th survey in 2007/ 2008 (n ¼ 7553) and 7th survey 2015/2016 (n ¼ 13,413). Adjusting for age and BMI, there were significant inverse relations between BP and 25(OH)D in the 4th, to a lesser degree in the 6th, and none in the 7th survey. For males the age- and BMI-adjusted differences in systolic BP between those with serum 25(OH)D 100 nmol/L were 6.2 mmHg, 4.1 mmHg and 0.1 mmHg, for the 4th, 6th and 7th surveys, respectively. Conclusions: Concomitant with a substantial reduction in BP from 1994 to 2015, there has been a loss of relation between 25(OH)D and BP which is hard to explain

    Person annotation in video sequences

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    In the recent years, the demand for video tools to automatically annotate and classify large audiovisual datasets has increased considerably. One specific task in this field applies to TV broadcast videos, to determine who and when a person appears in a video sequence. This work starts from the base of the ALBAYZIN evaluation series presented in the IberSPEECH-RTVE 2018 in Barcelona, and the purpose of this thesis is trying to improve the results obtained and compare the different face detection and tracking methods. We will evaluate the performance of classic face detection techniques and other techniques based on machine learning on a closed dataset of 34 known people. The rest of characters on the audiovisual document will be labelled as "unknown". We will work with small videos and images of each known character to build his/her model and finally, evaluate the performance of the ALBAYZIN algorithm over a 2h video called "La noche en 24H" whose format is like a news program. We will analyze the results and the type of errors and scenarios we encountered as well as the solutions we propose for each of them if there is any. In this work, We will only focus on a monomodal basis of face recognition and tracking

    Design of a Pole Climbing Unit

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    Temporary surveillance with an easily deployable surveillance unit can give a tactical advantage for police in situations when big crowds suddenly gather. It can also be used by fire department during fires or in the private security sector on construction sites and other such temporary areas requiring surveillance. This report describes the process of developing the climbing system for such a surveillance unit. Firstly a pre-study is made to determine what is required of the climbing system. Poles are studied online and by walking around in different cities. Also researched in the pre-study is possible competition. Following the pre-study is research on possible customer needs. Concept generation follows where concepts compete against each other in concept screening and concept scoring based on the initial research. The final winner is developed to a working prototype. The prototype uses belts to tighten itself to a pole in two different places. By holding the pole with one belt the other belt can be lifted which allows the robot to climb. The final prototype works but needs improvements before it is market ready.Temporary surveillance with an easily deployable camera can give a tactical advantage for police in riots or similar situations when big crowds suddenly gather, or for the fire department when a fire breaks out. This is a brief description of the development for a prototype pole climbing unit where a camera in a later product can be attached

    Transatlantic relations and the Maghreb

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    El Magreb se está convirtiendo en una zona cada vez más importante en la relación transatlántica por dos razones fundamentales: primero, porque para la UE, los acontecimientos que se producen en el norte de África tienen repercusiones en el sur de Europa, por lo que los países a los que afecta (especialmente España, Francia e Italia) están presionando para desarrollar una nueva y mejor relación económica, social y política con el Magreb y esto influye en la relación transatlántica. Segundo, porque después de la Guerra Fría, el Mediterráneo en general ha adquirido un carácter relevante internacionalmente. El hecho de que se hayan creado más iniciativas políticas, económicas y militares por parte de la UE y EE.UU. para mejorar la relación con el Magreb lo prueba. Este interés por parte de la UE y de EE.UU. parece haber dado lugar a un reparto de tareas respecto a la región del Magreb. Siendo la UE la que se enfrente a temas como la inmigración y las relaciones culturales y económicas, y EE.UU. tratando otros temas como el terrorismo, la proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva, etc. Este trabajo de investigación trata de establecer la relevancia de esta región dentro de la relación transatlántica y por qué es importante para EE.UU. y la UE

    Clinical and biochemical function of polymorphic NR0B1 GGAA-microsatellites in Ewing sarcoma: A report from the Childrens Oncology Group

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    pre-printBackground: The genetics involved in Ewing sarcoma susceptibility and prognosis are poorly understood. EWS/FLI and related EWS/ETS chimeras upregulate numerous gene targets via promoter-based GGAA-microsatellite response elements. These microsatellites are highly polymorphic in humans, and preliminary evidence suggests EWS/FLI-mediated gene expression is highly dependent on the number of GGAA motifs within the microsatellite. Objectives: Here we sought to examine the polymorphic spectrum of a GGAA-microsatellite within the NR0B1 promoter (acritical EWS/FLI target) in primary Ewing sarcoma tumors, and characterize how this polymorphism influences gene expression and clinical outcomes. Results: A complex, bimodal pattern of EWS/FLI-mediated gene expression was observed across a wide range of GGAA motifs, with maximal expression observed in constructs containing 20-26 GGAA motifs. Relative to white European and African controls, the NR0B1 GGAA-microsatellite in tumor cells demonstrated a strong bias for haplotypes containing 21-25 GGAA motifs suggesting a relationship between microsatellite function and disease susceptibility. This selection bias was not a product of microsatellite instability in tumor samples, nor was there a correlation between NR0B1 GGAA-microsatellite polymorphisms and survival outcomes. Conclusions: These data suggest that GGAA-microsatellite polymorphisms observed in human populations modulate EWS/FLI-mediated gene expression and may influence disease susceptibility in Ewing sarcoma
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