scholarly journals Hope, Disillusion and Coincidence in Migratory Decisions by Senegalese Migrants in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-277
Author(s):  
Philipp Roman Jung
Keyword(s):  
Minor Role ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Essential Characteristic ◽  
New Destinations ◽  
Onward Migration ◽  
Decisions To Leave ◽  
Restricted Mobility ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Do So

Uncertainty is an essential characteristic of our lives. However, by moving from one country to another, from a familiar context to an unfamiliar one, uncertainty becomes a key element of migrants’ decisions. In times of restricted mobility regimes, migrants often do not know if they will be able to reach the desired destination. Even if they manage to do so, it is still uncertain if they will be able to fulfil their aspirations. However, uncertainty also leaves room for hope. Departing from the conceptualisation of hope as the simultaneity of both potentiality and uncertainty and from the concept of circumstantial migration, this article analyses (1) retrospectively the decision of Senegalese migrants to move to Brazil and (2) the intentions of onward migration. Based on empirical data collected through ethnographic fieldwork in four Brazilian cities, this article shows how migration as a form of social hope is redirected to new destinations and that this redirection is a consequence of circumstances and coincidences, which enable or prevent movement. Potential positive outcomes of migration outweighed negative ones, which play a minor role and hardly affect decisions to leave Senegal. However, decisions to emigrate are often based on incomplete information and ill-informed expectations regarding the circumstances at the destination and can lead to feelings of disillusion. The impact of uncertainties shows a more differentiated picture in the context of onward migration intentions. While some migrants are willing to take big risks in onward migration, others try to minimize uncertainties.

scholarly journals Extracellular Pneumococcal Serine Proteases Affect Nasopharyngeal Colonization

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murtadha Q. Ali ◽  
Thomas P. Kohler ◽  
Gerhard Burchhardt ◽  
Andreas Wüst ◽  
Nadin Henck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Serine Proteases ◽  
Bacterial Load ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Extracellular Proteases ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Colonization ◽  
Invasive Diseases ◽  
Pneumococcal Colonization ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

Streptococcus pneumoniae has evolved versatile strategies to colonize the nasopharynx of humans. Colonization is facilitated by direct interactions with host cell receptors or via binding to components of the extracellular matrix. In addition, pneumococci hijack host-derived extracellular proteases such as the serine protease plasmin(ogen) for ECM and mucus degradation as well as colonization. S. pneumoniae expresses strain-dependent up to four serine proteases. In this study, we assessed the role of secreted or cell-bound serine proteases HtrA, PrtA, SFP, and CbpG, in adherence assays and in a mouse colonization model. We hypothesized that the redundancy of serine proteases compensates for the deficiency of a single enzyme. Therefore, double and triple mutants were generated in serotype 19F strain EF3030 and serotype 4 strain TIGR4. Strain EF3030 produces only three serine proteases and lacks the SFP encoding gene. In adherence studies using Detroit-562 epithelial cells, we demonstrated that both TIGR4Δcps and 19F mutants without serine proteases or expressing only CbpG, HtrA, or PrtA have a reduced ability to adhere to Detroit-562 cells. Consistent with these results, we show that the mutants of strain 19F, which preferentially colonizes mice, abrogate nasopharyngeal colonization in CD-1 mice after intranasal infection. The bacterial load in the nasopharynx was monitored for 14 days. Importantly, mutants showed significantly lower bacterial numbers in the nasopharynx two days after infection. Similarly, we detected a significantly reduced pneumococcal colonization on days 3, 7, and 14 post-inoculations. To assess the impact of pneumococcal serine proteases on acute infection, we infected mice intranasally with bioluminescent and invasive TIGR4 or isogenic triple mutants expressing only CbpG, HtrA, PrtA, or SFP. We imaged the acute lung infection in real-time and determined the survival of the mice. The TIGR4lux mutant expressing only PrtA showed a significant attenuation and was less virulent in the acute pneumonia model. In conclusion, our results showed that pneumococcal serine proteases contributed significantly to pneumococcal colonization but played only a minor role in pneumonia and invasive diseases. Because colonization is a prerequisite for invasive diseases and transmission, these enzymes could be promising candidates for the development of antimicrobials to reduce pneumococcal transmission.

scholarly journals Low incidence of Schmallenberg virus infection in natural cases of abortion in domestic ruminants in Hungary

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-111
Author(s):  
Levente Szeredi ◽  
Ádám Dán ◽  
Péter Malik ◽  
Szilárd Jánosi ◽  
Ákos Hornyák
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Sample ◽  
Schmallenberg Virus ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Domestic Ruminants ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Low Incidence ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

AbstractAn epizootic caused by a new orthobunyavirus called Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was recognised in European ruminants in 2011 and 2012. The re-emergence of the infection was reported in several countries in the subsequent years. Although the main clinical sign of SBV infection is abortion, the impact of SBV in natural cases of abortion in domestic ruminants had not been systematically examined before this study. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of SBV infection and to compare it to the importance of other causes of abortion by examining 537 natural cases of abortion that had occurred between 2011 and 2017 in Hungary. The cause of abortion was determined in 165 (31%) cases. An infectious cause was proved in 88 (16%) cases. SBV infection was found only in a total of four cases (0.8%) using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Three of them proved to be inapparent SBV infection, and one case was attributed to SBV-induced abortion by detecting non-purulent encephalitis and SBV nucleoprotein by immunohistochemistry in a brain tissue sample. According to the results, SBV played a minor role in natural cases of domestic ruminant abortion in Hungary during the 7-year period following the first SBV outbreak in 2011.

scholarly journals Health and culture: National and individual drivers of preference for professional medical help

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
I Leijen ◽  
H van Herk
Keyword(s):  
Personal Values ◽  
International Health ◽  
Health Care Research ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Healthcare Use ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Country Culture ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Preferences for professional medical healthcare in case of non-acute medical situations influence a major amount of healthcare use, and vary strongly across countries. Personal values and country culture have been shown to be important predictors of human preferences in many areas. We therefore investigated the impact of both individual and country-level characteristics across Europe on individual healthcare preferences related to non-acute medical conditions. Methods Data from 17,710 individuals from 16 European countries were analysed using a multi-level approach, simultaneously including individual- and country level predictors. Results Healthcare preferences were explained by both human values (Conservation γ = 0.097, p < .01, Self Enhancement γ = 0.038, p < .05) and trust in the doctor (γ 0.054, p < .01). Socio-demographics played a minor role. Societal tightness-looseness (TL) strongly predicted healthcare use preferences on the country level (γ 0.109, p < .05). Also TL enhanced the relation between conservation and preference (γ 0.024, p <.05), and decreased the relation between self-enhancement and preference (γ -0.021, p <.01). Conclusions Our results suggest that healthcare behavior is related to people's motivations and the extent to which the society they live in is more tight or loose. Stronger conservation values increase preference for professional medical care, while self-transcendence- and openness-to-change values decrease preference. Societal tightness is positively related to preference on the country level. Furthermore, in tight societies the effect of conservation is enhanced and the effect of self enhancement is suppressed, related to an additional higher preference for professional medical help. Our results may help key actors within the health system to predict and channel healthcare choice behavior across and within nations. Key messages Culture plays an important role in developing a preference for medical help, on both individual as well as country level. Personal values the as well as cultural tightness looseness are fruitful tools for the analysis of national and international health care research.

Do Prosody and Embodiment Influence the Perceived Naturalness of Conversational Agents’ Speech?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Jonathan Ehret ◽  
Andrea Bönsch ◽  
Lukas Aspöck ◽  
Christine T. Röhr ◽  
Stefan Baumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Masking Effect ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Virtual Agents ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Virtual Agent ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
The One ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

For conversational agents’ speech, either all possible sentences have to be prerecorded by voice actors or the required utterances can be synthesized. While synthesizing speech is more flexible and economic in production, it also potentially reduces the perceived naturalness of the agents among others due to mistakes at various linguistic levels. In our article, we are interested in the impact of adequate and inadequate prosody, here particularly in terms of accent placement, on the perceived naturalness and aliveness of the agents. We compare (1) inadequate prosody, as generated by off-the-shelf text-to-speech (TTS) engines with synthetic output; (2) the same inadequate prosody imitated by trained human speakers; and (3) adequate prosody produced by those speakers. The speech was presented either as audio-only or by embodied, anthropomorphic agents, to investigate the potential masking effect by a simultaneous visual representation of those virtual agents. To this end, we conducted an online study with 40 participants listening to four different dialogues each presented in the three Speech levels and the two Embodiment levels. Results confirmed that adequate prosody in human speech is perceived as more natural (and the agents are perceived as more alive) than inadequate prosody in both human (2) and synthetic speech (1). Thus, it is not sufficient to just use a human voice for an agents’ speech to be perceived as natural—it is decisive whether the prosodic realisation is adequate or not. Furthermore, and surprisingly, we found no masking effect by speaker embodiment, since neither a human voice with inadequate prosody nor a synthetic voice was judged as more natural, when a virtual agent was visible compared to the audio-only condition. On the contrary, the human voice was even judged as less “alive” when accompanied by a virtual agent. In sum, our results emphasize, on the one hand, the importance of adequate prosody for perceived naturalness, especially in terms of accents being placed on important words in the phrase, while showing, on the other hand, that the embodiment of virtual agents plays a minor role in the naturalness ratings of voices.

Investigating L1 lay assessments of L2 French pronunciation

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Lappin-Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Rate Of Speech ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
English Canadian ◽  
Larger Sample

Abstract This study examined how 10 English Canadian students reading a 122-word passage in French were assessed by a diverse group of 40 native speaker lay listeners in France, thus addressing a lacuna in current pronunciation research. Both stimulus factors and listener effects were investigated. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed strong correlations between perceptions of accentedness and comprehensibility, and between lay ratings and those made by two experts. Results highlighted the impact phonemic errors and rate of speech have on rater judgments, while linkings (liaisons) and other prosodic elements seemed to play a minor role. Recommendations are made for a follow-up study using a larger sample.

In defense of a divided opposition: programmatic distribution and ethnic minor party support

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Observational Evidence ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Minor Parties ◽  
Ethnic Parties ◽  
Party Support ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Cost Of Voting ◽  
Do So ◽  
Cross National

Abstract Why do so many voters in African countries vote for minor ethnic parties instead of unifying into a powerful multi-ethnic opposition coalition? I present a model that demonstrates that as the incumbent devotes more resources to programmatic goods, which voters can access regardless of how they voted, the opportunity cost of voting for a sincerely preferred, but losing, candidate decreases. I provide experimental and cross-national observational evidence that voters are more likely to support a minor party as they perceive more or more valuable goods being distributed programmatically. Those who perceive poor distribution, or only clientelist distribution, instead vote strategically for a major opposition party. In general, support for minor parties increases along with positive outcomes and approval of the incumbent.

A Harmonic Balance Technique for Multistage Turbomachinery Applications

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Frey ◽  
Graham Ashcroft ◽  
Hans-Peter Kersken ◽  
Christian Voigt
Keyword(s):  
Harmonic Balance ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Frequency Domain Method ◽  
Nonlinear Frequency ◽  
Flow Solver ◽  
Fundamental Frequencies ◽  
Interaction Terms ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

This article describes a nonlinear frequency domain method for the simulation of unsteady blade row interaction problems across several blade rows in turbomachinery. The capability to efficiently simulate such interactions is crucial for the improvement of the prediction of blade vibrations, tonal noise, and the impact of unsteadiness on aerodynamic performance. The simulation technique presented here is based on the harmonic balance approach and has been integrated into an existing flow solver. A nontrivial issue in the application of harmonic balance methods to turbomachinery flows is the fact that various fundamental frequencies may occur simultaneously in one relative system, each one being due to the interaction of two blade rows. It is shown that, considering the disturbances corresponding to different fundamental frequencies as mutually uncoupled, one can develop an unsteady simulation method which from a practial view point turns out to be highly attractive. On the one hand, it is possible to take into account arbitrarily many nonlinear interaction terms. On the other, the computational efficiency can be increased considerably once it is known that the nonlinear coupling between certain subsets of the harmonics plays only a minor role. To validate the method and demonstrate its accuracy and efficiency a multistage compressor configuration is simulated using both the method described in this article and a conventional time-domain solver.

scholarly journals Tree-Related Microhabitats Follow Similar Patterns but are More Diverse in Primary Compared to Managed Temperate Mountain Forests

Ecosystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Asbeck ◽  
Daniel Kozák ◽  
Andreea P. Spînu ◽  
Martin Mikoláš ◽  
Veronika Zemlerová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Abies Alba ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Mountain Forests ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Primary Forests

AbstractThe impact of forest management on biodiversity is difficult to scrutinize along gradients of management. A step towards analyzing the impact of forest management on biodiversity is comparisons between managed and primary forests. The standardized typology of tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) is a multi-taxon indicator used to quantify forest biodiversity. We aim to analyze the influence of environmental factors on the occurrence of groups of TreMs by comparing primary and managed forests. We collected data for the managed forests in the Black Forest (Germany) and for the primary forests in the Western (Slovakia) and Southern Carpathians (Romania). To model the richness and the different groups of TreMs per tree, we used generalized linear mixed models with diameter at breast height (DBH), altitude, slope and aspect as predictors for European beech (Fagus sylvatica (L.)), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.)) and silver fir (Abies alba (Mill.)) in primary and managed temperate mountain forests. We found congruent results for overall richness and the vast majority of TreM groups. Trees in primary forests hosted a greater richness of all and specific types of TreMs than individuals in managed forests. The main drivers of TreMs are DBH and altitude, while slope and aspect play a minor role. We recommend forest and nature conservation managers to focus: 1) on the conservation of remaining primary forests and 2) approaches of biodiversity-oriented forest management on the selection of high-quality habitat trees that already provide a high number of TreMs in managed forests based on the comparison with primary forests.

scholarly journals SUN-LB41 The Role of Androgen Receptors in Female Mouse X-Zone Loss During Aging and Pregnancy

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily C Frucci ◽  
Matthew J Taylor ◽  
Yewei Xing ◽  
Gary D Hammer ◽  
William E Rainey
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Virgin Female ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Positive Staining ◽  
Exon 2 ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction: Sex differences are prevalent in the risk and manifestation of numerous human diseases as well as in the response to most therapeutic interventions. While marked sexual dimorphism is observed in the development, homeostasis and most diseases of the adrenal cortex, the impact of these differences on adrenal function remains poorly understood. Sex differences include the timing of adrenal fetal zone (X-zone) regression, which occurs during male mouse puberty but only after pregnancy or advanced age in females. The mechanisms driving regression, particularly in females, are unknown. A potential regulator of adrenal sexual dimorphism and X-zone regression is androgen exposure. Through adrenocortical-specific deletion of the androgen receptor (AR), we tested the hypothesis that androgen signaling is responsible for X-zone post-pubertal regression in male mice and post-pregnancy/aging related regression in female mice. Methods: Adrenocortical-targeted Ar deletion was accomplished by crossing heterozygous aldosterone synthase-Cre mice to mice with a floxed exon 2 of Ar (ARΔAdr). Mice were sacrificed at 25 or 50 weeks of age and compared to ARf/f littermates (controls). Adrenals were processed for histology (H&E), immunofluorescence (IF) and whole adrenal mRNA RT-PCR to detect AR and X-zone specific markers Akr1c18 (20αHSD) and Pik3c2g. Results: In all mice, Ar mRNA expression was significantly decreased in ARΔAdr mice compared to control littermates. As expected, 25 week control females had higher expression of Akr1c18 (6740-fold) and Pik3c2g (198-fold) compared to 25 week control males. 25 week ARΔAdr males retained expression of Akr1c18 (20864-fold) and Pik3c2g (2802-fold) compared to controls, and also exhibited positive 20αHSD staining, confirming X-zone retention. 50 week control females exhibited histologic loss of the X-zone with negligible expression of Akr1c18 and Pik3c2g compared with 25 week control females. However, 50 week female ARΔAdr mice exhibited a histologic X-zone retention and concomitant high expression of X-zone genes (Akr1c18 67-fold, Pik3c2g 75-fold) compared to female control littermates. Furthermore, 20αHSD IF demonstrated undetectable levels in controls and positive staining in ARΔAdr, indicating that age-associated X-zone loss may be AR-mediated. Post-pregnant 25 week control mice had ~99% lower expression of both X-zone markers compared to virgin female controls. Post-pregnant ARΔAdr mice displayed higher expression of Akr1c18 (19-fold) and Pik3c2g (5-fold) compared to post-pregnant controls, though neither group had detectable 20αHSD by IF. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that AR signaling not only causes post-pubertal X-zone loss in males, but also plays a major role in the loss of the X-zone observed in aged female mice. Conversely, AR signaling may only play a minor role in X-zone regression following pregnancy.

scholarly journals Finance and firm characteristics in Zimbabwe

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 465-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Lindelwa Makoni ◽  
Lindiwe Ngcobo
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Bank Loans ◽  
Foreign Firms ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Financing Decisions ◽  
The Government ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of firm-specific characteristics on the accessibility of firm financing in Zimbabwe using 2011 data from World Bank enterprise surveys. The results of the study show that firm characteristics in Zimbabwe determine the type of financing that is used for investment and working capital purposes. Small firms seem to rely more on internal financing as opposed to using bank funds, probably due to their small operations and lack of assets to put up as collateral. The larger firms however find it easier to access bank finance as they are much older in terms of age, have developed good relations with their financial services’ providers and are also able to provide the required collateral to back their lines of credit. Both domestic and foreign-owned firms highlighted financial constraints as a major obstacle to their businesses. However foreign firms seemed to access bank loans easier than domestic firms. Also, gender seems to play a minor role in the financing decisions of the firm. It is therefore recommended that the Government engages the financial market intermediaries to find feasible business financing solutions for all sized firms, especially those owned by locals. This would lead to the much-needed economic growth through investment attraction and employment creation.

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