The Complex Dynamic Evolution of Cultural Vibrancy in the Region of Halland, Sweden

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-202
Author(s):  
Paolo Massimo Buscema ◽  
Guido Ferilli ◽  
Christer Gustafsson ◽  
Pier Luigi Sacco

This article examines the implicit space grammar of the cultural vibrancy of the region of Halland in Southwest Sweden. By using a new computational approach, we implement for the first time a methodology that allows us, on the one side, to extrapolate the complex dynamic evolution of the region’s cultural geography and, on the other side, to diagnose the structural causes of its eventual decay. The results provide a basis for a more systematic approach to evidence-based policy design at the regional scale, and for a more participatory, bottom-up public decision-making in the cultural and other policy spheres.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Mura ◽  
Saskia Preissner ◽  
Robert Preissner ◽  
Philip E. Bourne

This Perspective examines a recent surge of information regarding the potential benefits of acid-suppression drugs in the context of COVID-19, with a particular eye on the great variability (and, thus, confusion) that has arisen across the reported findings, at least as regards the popular antacid famotidine. The degree of inconsistency and discordance reflects contradictory conclusions from independent, clinical-based studies that took roughly similar approaches, in terms of both experimental design (retrospective, observational, cohort-based, etc.) and statistical analysis workflows (propensity-score matching and stratification into sub-cohorts, etc.). The contradictions and potential confusion have ramifications for clinicians faced with choosing therapeutically optimal courses of intervention: e.g., do any potential benefits of famotidine suggest its use in a particular COVID-19 case? (If so, what administration route, dosage regimen, duration, etc. are likely optimal?) As succinctly put this March in Freedberg et al. (2021), “…several retrospective studies show relationships between famotidine and outcomes in COVID-19 and several do not.” Beyond the pressing issue of possible therapeutic indications, the conflicting data and conclusions related to famotidine must be resolved before its inclusion/integration in ontological and knowledge graph (KG)–based frameworks, which in turn are useful for drug discovery and repurposing. As a broader methodological issue, note that reconciling inconsistencies would bolster the validity of meta-analyses which draw upon the relevant data-sources. And, perhaps most broadly, developing a system for treating inconsistencies would stand to improve the qualities of both 1) real world evidence-based studies (retrospective), on the one hand, and 2) placebo-controlled, randomized multi-center clinical trials (prospective), on the other hand. In other words, a systematic approach to reconciling the two types of studies would inherently improve the quality and utility of each type of study individually.


Author(s):  
Franz Rubel ◽  
Katharina Brugger ◽  
Lidia Chitimia-Dobler ◽  
Hans Dautel ◽  
Elisabeth Meyer-Kayser ◽  
...  

AbstractAn updated and increased compilation of georeferenced tick locations in Germany is presented here. This data collection extends the dataset published some years ago by another 1448 new tick locations, 900 locations of which were digitized from literature and 548 locations are published here for the first time. This means that a total of 3492 georeferenced tick locations is now available for Germany. The tick fauna of Germany includes two species of Argasidae in the genera Argas and Carios and 19 species of Ixodidae in the genera Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, and Ixodes, altogether 21 tick species. In addition, three species of Ixodidae in the genera Hyalomma (each spring imported by migratory birds) and Rhipicephalus (occasionally imported by dogs returning from abroad with their owners) are included in the tick atlas. Of these, the georeferenced locations of 23 tick species are depicted in maps. The occurrence of the one remaining tick species, the recently described Ixodes inopinatus, is given at the level of the federal states. The most common and widespread tick species is Ixodes ricinus, with records in all 16 federal states. With the exception of Hamburg, Dermacentor reticulatus was also found in all federal states. The occurrence of the ixodid ticks Ixodes canisuga, Ixodes frontalis, Ixodes hexagonus and I. inopinatus were documented in at least 11 federal states each. The two mentioned argasid tick species were also documented in numerous federal states, the pigeon tick Argas reflexus in 11 and the bat tick Carios vespertilionis in seven federal states. The atlas of ticks in Germany and the underlying digital dataset in the supplement can be used to improve global tick maps or to study the effects of climate change and habitat alteration on the distribution of tick species.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Velichka Traneva ◽  
Stoyan Tranev

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is an important method in data analysis, which was developed by Fisher. There are situations when there is impreciseness in data In order to analyze such data, the aim of this paper is to introduce for the first time an intuitionistic fuzzy two-factor ANOVA (2-D IFANOVA) without replication as an extension of the classical ANOVA and the one-way IFANOVA for a case where the data are intuitionistic fuzzy rather than real numbers. The proposed approach employs the apparatus of intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) and index matrices (IMs). The paper also analyzes a unique set of data on daily ticket sales for a year in a multiplex of Cinema City Bulgaria, part of Cineworld PLC Group, applying the two-factor ANOVA and the proposed 2-D IFANOVA to study the influence of “ season ” and “ ticket price ” factors. A comparative analysis of the results, obtained after the application of ANOVA and 2-D IFANOVA over the real data set, is also presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Liang ◽  
Wen-Hsiang Lin ◽  
Tai-Yuan Chang ◽  
Chi-Hong Chen ◽  
Chen-Wei Wu ◽  
...  

AbstractBody ownership concerns what it is like to feel a body part or a full body as mine, and has become a prominent area of study. We propose that there is a closely related type of bodily self-consciousness largely neglected by researchers—experiential ownership. It refers to the sense that I am the one who is having a conscious experience. Are body ownership and experiential ownership actually the same phenomenon or are they genuinely different? In our experiments, the participant watched a rubber hand or someone else’s body from the first-person perspective and was touched either synchronously or asynchronously. The main findings: (1) The sense of body ownership was hindered in the asynchronous conditions of both the body-part and the full-body experiments. However, a strong sense of experiential ownership was observed in those conditions. (2) We found the opposite when the participants’ responses were measured after tactile stimulations had ceased for 5 s. In the synchronous conditions of another set of body-part and full-body experiments, only experiential ownership was blocked but not body ownership. These results demonstrate for the first time the double dissociation between body ownership and experiential ownership. Experiential ownership is indeed a distinct type of bodily self-consciousness.


1970 ◽  
Vol 174 (1037) ◽  
pp. 403-417

The Copley Medal is awarded to Sir Peter Medawar, C. B. E., F. R. S. Medawar’s first major contribution was to prove conclusively that skin grafts made between different individuals usually fail because of an immunological response made by the recipient against foreign antigens in the donor’s cells, and then to show that the most important mechanism was a specific cell-mediated immunity due to lymphocytes. In attempting to find means of preventing the response against grafted tissues, without impairing immunological capacity in other respects, Medawar made a second major contribution by showing for the first time that it was possible to induce specific tolerance of foreign antigens by administering them to very young animals. His subsequent work, directed towards achieving practical means of overcoming the immunological barrier to tissue transplantation, led him on the one hand to investigate improved methods of inducing specific immunological tolerance and, on the other, to use antiserum against lymphocytes to suppress the damaging effects of these cells. His successful results in experimental animals have indicated the way to their possible application in Man. Medawar’s work has throughout been distinguished by a penetrating clarity of thought combined with insight, and by elegant and original experimental design. He also has a justly high reputation for his analyses and predictions in wider fields of biology, and his study of scientific method.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 139-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusra Bibi Ruhomally ◽  
Nabeelah Banon Jahmeerbaccus ◽  
Muhammad Zaid Dauhoo

We study the NERA model that describes the dynamic evolution of illicit drug usage in a population. The model consists of nonusers (N) and three categories of drug users: the experimental (E) category, the recreational (R) category and the addict (A) category. Two epidemic threshold term known as the reproduction numbers, R0 and μ are defined and derived. Sensitivity analysis of R0 on the parameters are performed in order to determine their relative importance to illicit drug prevalence. The local and global stability of the equilibrium states are also analysed. We also prove that a transcritical bifurcation occurs at R0 = 1. It is shown that an effective campaign of prevention can help to fight against the prevalence of illicit drug consumption. We demonstrate persistence when R0 > 1 and conditions for the extinction of drug consumption are also established. Numerical simulations are performed to verify our model. Our results show that the NERA model can assist policy makers in targeting prevention for maximum effectiveness and can be used to adopt evidence-based policies to better monitor and quantify drug use trends.


2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Hickson ◽  
Ariane Laplante-Lévesque ◽  
Lena Wong

Purpose The authors address 3 questions: (a) What is evidence-based practice (EBP), and why is it important for adults with hearing impairment? (b) What is the evidence about intervention options for adults who fail a hearing screening and are identified with hearing impairment? (c) What intervention options do adults choose when identified with hearing impairment for the first time? Method The 5 steps of the EBP process are discussed in relation to a clinical question about whether hearing aids and communication programs reduce activity limitations and participation restrictions compared with no treatment for adults who fail a hearing screening and are identified with hearing impairment. Results Systematic reviews of the evidence indicate that both hearing aids and communication programs reduce activity limitations and participation restrictions for this population and are therefore appropriate options. A study is then described in which these options were presented to 153 clients identified with hearing impairment for the first time: 43% chose hearing aids, 18% chose communication programs, and the remaining 39% chose not to take any action. Conclusion EBP supports the offer of intervention options to adults who fail a hearing screening and are identified with hearing impairment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1229-1236
Author(s):  
Matthias Wörsching ◽  
Constantin Hoch

Abstract Cesium hydroxide, CsOH, was for the first time characterised on the basis of single-crystal data. The structure is isotypic to the one of the room-temperature modification of NaOH and can be derived from the NaCl structure type thus allowing the comparison of all alkali metal hydroxide structures. Raman spectroscopic investigations show the hydroxide anion to behave almost as a free ion as in the gas phase. The X-ray investigations indicate possible H atom positions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S248) ◽  
pp. 290-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Vecchiato ◽  
M. G. Lattanzi ◽  
M. Gai ◽  
R. Morbidelli

AbstractGAME (Gamma Astrometric Measurement Experiment) is a concept for an experiment whose goal is to measure from space the γ parameter of the Parameterized Post-Newtonian formalism, by means of a satellite orbiting at 1 AU from the Sun and looking as close as possible to its limb. This technique resembles the one used during the solar eclipse of 1919, when Dyson, Eddington and collaborators measured for the first time the gravitational bending of light. Simple estimations suggest that, possibly within the budget of a small mission, one could reach the 10−6level of accuracy with ~106observations of relatively bright stars at about 2° apart from the Sun. Further simulations show that this result could be reached with only 20 days of measurements on stars ofV≤ 17 uniformly distributed. A quick look at real star densities suggests that this result could be greatly improved by observing particularly crowded regions near the galactic center.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 497 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
XIAN-LIN GUO ◽  
MEGAN PRICE ◽  
WEI GOU ◽  
SONG-DONG ZHOU ◽  
XIN-FEN GAO ◽  
...  

The genus Similisinocarum Cauwet & Farille (Apiaceae, Apioideae), was first described by Cauwet & Farille in 1984, but it has been considered as a synonym of Sinocarum H.Wolff ex R.H. Shan & F.T. Pu. In this study, Simlisinocarum normanianum, the type species of Similisinocarum was found in China for the first time, and the molecular phylogenetic evidence based on ITS sequences reveals that Similisinocarum normanianum occupies an individual clade, which is sister to the clade comprising seven species of Acronema, Sinocarum, and Oreocomopsis in Acronema clade, the values of genetic distances (ITS) between Similisinocarum and Acronema, Similisinocarum and Oreocomopsis, Similisinocarum and Pternopetalum, Similisinocarum and Sinocarum are close (≥0.0916), while deviated from the values within Acronema, Sinocarum and Pternopetalum (≤0.0580). Morphologically, we found Similisinocarum normanianum develops reflex bracteoles with white membranous margin, petals with an entire margin and incurved apex, and mericarps with many vittae in the furrow (≥ 3) and commissure (6), which are distinguishable from other species of the Acronema clade. Consequently, results manifested in molecular and morphological analyses indicate that Similisinocarum should be treated as an independent genus distinct from Sinocarum.


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