scholarly journals Modelling Agroforestry’s Contributions to People—A Review of Available Models

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2106
Author(s):  
Philipp Kraft ◽  
Ehsan Eyshi Rezaei ◽  
Lutz Breuer ◽  
Frank Ewert ◽  
André Große-Stoltenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Models ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Code Structure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Community Effort ◽  
Different Levels

Climate change, increasing environmental pollution, continuous loss of biodiversity, and a growing human population with increasing food demand, threaten the functioning of agro-ecosystems and their contribution to people and society. Agroforestry systems promise a number of benefits to enhance nature’s contributions to people. There are a wide range of agroforestry systems implemented representing different levels of establishment across the globe. This range and the long time periods for the establishment of these systems make empirical assessments of impacts on ecosystem functions difficult. In this study we investigate how simulation models can help to assess and predict the role of agroforestry in nature’s contributions. The review of existing models to simulate agroforestry systems reveals that most models predict mainly biomass production and yield. Regulating ecosystem services are mostly considered as a means for the assessment of yield only. Generic agroecosystem models with agroforestry extensions provide a broader scope, but the interaction between trees and crops is often addressed in a simplistic way. The application of existing models for agroforestry systems is particularly hindered by issues related to code structure, licences or availability. Therefore, we call for a community effort to connect existing agroforestry models with ecosystem effect models towards an open-source, multi-effect agroforestry modelling framework.

The Problem of Identifying and Modeling the Relationship between Monetary Factor and Inflation in the Russian Economy

2008 ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
A. Porshakov ◽  
A. Ponomarenko
Keyword(s):  
Money Supply ◽  
Money Demand ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Complex Approach ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Supply Side Factors

The role of monetary factor in generating inflationary processes in Russia has stimulated various debates in social and scientific circles for a relatively long time. The authors show that identification of the specificity of relationship between money and inflation requires a complex approach based on statistical modeling and involving a wide range of indicators relevant for the price changes in the economy. As a result a model of inflation for Russia implying the decomposition of inflation dynamics into demand-side and supply-side factors is suggested. The main conclusion drawn is that during the recent years the volume of inflationary pressures in the Russian economy has been determined by the deviation of money supply from money demand, rather than by money supply alone. At the same time, monetary factor has a long-run spread over time impact on inflation.

De (on) Verklaarbaarheid Van Fossilisatie

1998 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 101-109
Author(s):  
Elisabeth van der Linden
Keyword(s):  
Learning Process ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
The Past ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Past Tenses ◽  
Different Levels

In the literature about fossilization, several definitions have been given and several explanations have been suggested for this phenomenon. I see fossilization as a long-time stagnation in the T2 learning process, leading to errors based on transfer. Fossilization is caused by sociolinguistic, pyscholinguistic and purely linguistic factors. In this paper I concentrate on the acquisition of syntactic structures and on the role of input and instruction in that process. I argue that, although in the acquisition of some syntactic structures, UG plays an important role, this does not account for the whole learning process: learners have not only to reset parameters when acquiring T2 but have to proceduralize knowledge based on the surface structure of sentences. In the case of the use of past tenses in French, many of the Dutch advanced learners of three different levels of proficiency do not acquire native-like intuitions about the use of these tenses, although input as well as instruction are thorough on this point. I suggest that the past tense system is not UG-dependent and that the instruction does not allow proceduralization of the knowledge.

scholarly journals Human-Plant Coevolution: A modelling framework for theory-building on the origins of agriculture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Angourakis ◽  
Jonas Alcaina-Mateos ◽  
Marco Madella ◽  
Debora Zurro
Keyword(s):  
Population Change ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Feedback System ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Simple Simulation ◽  
Computational Implementation ◽  
Agricultural Societies

The domestication of plants and the origin of agricultural societies has been the focus of much theoretical discussion on why, how, when, and where these happened. The 'when' and 'where' have been substantially addressed by bioarchaeology, thanks to advances in methodology and the broadening of the geographical and chronological scope of evidence. However, the 'why' and 'how' have lagged behind, holding on to relatively old models with limited explanatory power. Armed with the evidence now available, we can return to theory by revisiting the mechanisms allegedly involved, disentangling their connection to the diversity of trajectories, and identifying the weight and role of the parameters involved. We present the Human-Plant Coevolution (HPC) model, which represents the dynamics of coevolution between a human and a plant population. The model consists of an ecological positive feedback system (mutualism), which can be reinforced by positive evolutionary feedback (coevolution). The model formulation is the result of wiring together relatively simple simulation models of population ecology and evolution, through a computational implementation in R.  The HPC model captures a variety of potential scenarios, though which conditions are linked to the degree and timing of population change and the intensity of selective pressures. Our results confirm that the possible trajectories leading to neolithisation are diverse and involve multiple factors. However, simulations also show how some of those factors are entangled, what are their effects on human and plant populations under different conditions, and what might be the main causes fostering agriculture and domestication.

scholarly journals The Health Benefits of Emodin, a Natural Anthraquinone Derived from Rhubarb—A Summary Update

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9522
Author(s):  
Monika Stompor–Gorący
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Rheum Palmatum ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Microbial Infections ◽  
Potential Therapeutic Role ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Resistance To Chemotherapy

Emodin (6-methyl-1,3,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone) is a naturally occurring anthraquinone derivative found in roots and leaves of various plants, fungi and lichens. For a long time it has been used in traditional Chinese medicine as an active ingredient in herbs. Among other sources, it is isolated from the rhubarb Rheum palmatum or tuber fleece-flower Polygonam multiflorum. Emodin has a wide range of biological activities, including diuretic, antibacterial, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antinociceptive. According to the most recent studies, emodin acts as an antimalarial and antiallergic agent, and can also reverse resistance to chemotherapy. In the present work the potential therapeutic role of emodin in treatment of inflammatory diseases, cancers and microbial infections is analysed.

scholarly journals Non-hormonal options for the relief of menopausal disorders

2022 ◽  
pp. 190-196
Author(s):  
O. V. Yakushevskaya
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Estrogen Deficiency ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Long Time

Woman’s nature is unique. Taking into account some historical milestones, it can be noted that the role of women in society has undergone large-scale changes. The woman took a confident position in society. Its main function remains unchanged and it consists in procreation and procreation. A woman’s activity is consistent with the work of her reproductive system (RS). The gradual decrease, and then the cessation of the work of the ovaries, contributes to the life order and health of the fair sex. Menopause is a natural stage in a woman’s life, which corresponds to the peak of social self-realization. However, in some cases, hormonal changes characteristic of this period can serve as a favorable background for the formation of a number of pathological changes. The growing estrogen deficiency is becoming a pathogenetic impetus for the development of a wide range of climacteric disorders. Vasomotor symptoms and hyperhidrosis are the most frequent companions of women during the perimenopausal transition and early postmenopause. Maintaining optimal activity and the full quality of life of patients should be the goal of correcting the negative manifestations of estrogen deficiency and the complications associated with it. Compensating for estrogen deficiency with menopausal hormone therapy (HRT) is the benchmark for menopausal problems. However, there are a number of patients who have contraindications to prescribing HRT or who refuse to receive it for some reason. For this category of patients, alternative methods of diet correction. Combinations of plant extracts with vitamins and minerals have been successfully used in clinical practice for a long time. The article will provide information on the most studied phytoestrogens contained in soy.

Nuns and Abbesses

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Vanderputten
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Secular World ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Female Monasticism ◽  
Monastic History

Although a substantial number of religious communities in the medieval West consisted partially or entirely of cloistered women, in traditional surveys of monastic history these individuals and their leadership received but scant attention. Until deep into the 20th century, the prevailing view among historians was that the role of nuns and abbesses in driving forward the development of monastic ideology and institutions had been negligible. Many believed that the purpose of female convent life had been only to provide an environment where veiled women would be shielded from the secular world and where their agency could be entirely directed toward intercessory prayer service and commemoration of the dead. With few exceptions, so they argued, those who accessed this existence spent their life in a state of discreet withdrawal, seldom leaving a lasting impression on those who shared their fate or drawing much notice from those living beyond the cloister walls. While a number of earlier specialists had already criticized this view, it was a feminist “wave” in scholarship in the 1970s and 1980s that altered the perception of cloistered women as a marginal, mostly inconsequential offshoot of a monastic phenomenon shaped by male paradigms and actors. These early studies allowed a first glimpse of the scope of the phenomenon, geographically, quantitatively, and in terms of its spiritual and intellectual achievements and its impact on society. However, they did little to change the view that cloistered life for women was a “marginal” phenomenon. This was partly because traditional views took a long time to die out, but also partly because of the tendency of pioneering studies to focus on instances of oppression or emancipation. In the last three decades, these perspectives have been replaced by a wide range of thematic interests that have allowed historians to highlight different aspects of female monasticism in the Middle Ages, including the immense diversity of female monastic experiences; practitioners’ intense involvement in spirituality, intellectual life, and artistic production; their complex interactions with male monastics and clerics, ascetic women living outside of cloistered contexts, and the secular world; and the dynamics behind recruitment and patronage. Much work remains to be done to synthesize paradigm-shifting insights in these studies before we can arrive at a fundamentally revised narrative of female cloistered life, let alone insert it into a new one of medieval monasticism generally. This bibliography omits discussion of “private” monastics such as anchoresses and house ascetics, and of “semi-religious” phenomena such as that of the Beguines and Penitents.

The future of collective bargaining in Italy between legislative reforms and social partners’ responses

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Antonio Recchia
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Voluntary Compliance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
Jobs Act ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Italian Legislation

In recent years, Italian legislation seems to have accomplished a ‘corporatisation’ of collective bargaining in response to employers’ demands, without the filter of national collective bargaining. Article 8 of Law No. 148/2011 made it possible to deviate from legislative provisions and industry-wide collective bargaining on a wide range of topics. The Legislative Decrees implementing the Jobs Act in 2015 have gone even further, allowing the possibility of a different regulation both through different levels of collective bargaining and through individual agreements. Faced with these changes in the balance of power, collective bargaining has been weakened. Nevertheless, a number of national sectoral agreements have provided for ambitious efforts to establish a new relationship between the levels of collective bargaining or the mechanisms of collective agreements, as well as to re-regulate forms of workers’ representation. As these national agreements are based on the voluntary compliance of workers’ organisations and employers’ associations, their implementation and enforcement in order to be effective will need to be accompanied by a re-establishment of the role of collective bargaining.

scholarly journals The Interregnum and the Saint Petersburg Revolt of the Decembrists as Reflected in the Post-Soviet Historiography

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 655-671
Author(s):  
Pavel V. Ilyin ◽  
◽  
Vladimir A. Shkerin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Models ◽  
The Other ◽  
Secret Society ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Saint Petersburg ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Soviet Historiography ◽  
Different Levels

The review is devoted to scientific and historical-journalistic works of the late Soviet and post-Soviet periods which formulate the original versions of the events of the Interregnum of 1825 and the revolt of the Decembrists. The elimination of the ideological framework of Soviet studies of the Decembrists emancipated scholarly research and made it possible to put forward previously impossible concepts and hypotheses. On the other hand, the same circumstance contributed to the emergence of conspiracy theories and other quasi-scientific or not at all scientific versions that are not based on the necessary sources, but appeal to a wide range of readers. As a result, modern literature has developed a contradictory variety of conceptual models of different levels and quality claiming to explain the events of 1825. This review offers an experience of understanding the existing range of concepts, versions and hypotheses in post-soviet historiography. It focuses on the main discussion topics: about the circle of contenders to the throne (whether it was limited to Grand Dukes or included the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna); about the position and role of the Governor-General of the capital Miloradovich and the existence of a general opposition or a conspiracy of generals who supported the transfer of the throne to Grand Duke Constantine; about the role of the secret society of the Decembrists and the officer conspiracy initiated by him in the Guards Corps; about other influential political actors (the Russian–American Company, the “German party”, etc.) presumably opposing the accession of Grand Duke Nicholas.

A DNS Study on Roughness-Induced Transition in Oscillating Pipe Flow by Employing Overset Methodology

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali A. Abdulrasool ◽  
Yongho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Spectral Element ◽  
Stokes Number ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Velocity Amplitude ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Grid Technique ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract In this paper, we model a circular pipe with wavy inner wall, for the purpose of studying the role of surface roughness in a purely oscillating flow. Overset-grid technique is utilized for two combined flow domains, and the interpolation process within the shared zone is validated with the exact laminar flow solution for long-time oscillation. Direct numerical simulations are performed at different flow conditions, taking advantage of the overlapping capability of the spectral element method. All simulations begin with zero initial conditions, and periodic boundary conditions are applied at the two ends of the pipe with different roughness heights. The internal pipe roughness modeled by the overset meshes operates as a triggering mechanism for transition to turbulence, and the critical Reynolds number based on the Stokes thickness and the centerline velocity amplitude is determined to be 223.5 at the Stokes number of 10. The results confirm that the periodic turbulence bursts react to the presence of the roughness with different levels of turbulence intensity among the four Stokes numbers presented herein. Additionally, friction losses are calculated and compared with three cases of the existing experimental results for smooth and rough walls.

scholarly journals Evolving the neuroendocrine physiology of human and primate cooperation and collective action

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1683) ◽  
pp. 20150014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin C. Trumble ◽  
Adrian V. Jaeggi ◽  
Michael Gurven
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Territorial Defence ◽  
Multiple Components ◽  
Current State ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Range Of Variation ◽  
Different Levels

While many hormones play vital roles in facilitating or reinforcing cooperative behaviour, the neurohormones underlying competitive and cooperative behaviours are largely conserved across all mammals. This raises the question of how endocrine mechanisms have been shaped by selection to produce different levels of cooperation in different species. Multiple components of endocrine physiology—from baseline hormone concentrations, to binding proteins, to the receptor sensitivity and specificity—can evolve independently and be impacted by current socio-ecological conditions or individual status, thus potentially generating a wide range of variation within and between species. Here, we highlight several neurohormones and variation in hormone receptor genes associated with cooperation, focusing on the role of oxytocin and testosterone in contexts ranging from parenting and pair-bonding to reciprocity and territorial defence. While the studies reviewed herein describe the current state of the literature with regard to hormonal modulators of cooperation and collective action, there is still a paucity of research on hormonal mechanisms that help facilitate large-scale collective action. We end by discussing several potential areas for future research.

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