scholarly journals The Ancient Varieties of Mountain Maize: The Inheritance of the Pointed Character and Its Effect on the Natural Drying Process

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2295
Author(s):  
Stefano Sangiorgio ◽  
Federico Colombo ◽  
Martina Ghidoli ◽  
Luca Giupponi ◽  
Giulio Ferro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Mountainous Areas ◽  
World War ◽  
Lombardy Region ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
Gradual Disappearance ◽  
Thermographic Camera ◽  
Mountain Environment ◽  
Second World

The introduction of mechanized agricultural practices after the Second World War and the use of productive hybrids led to a gradual disappearance of local maize varieties. However, 13 landraces are still cultivated in North-Western Italy, in the Lombardy region; those that are cultivated in mountainous areas (roughly up to 1200 m in altitude) are often characterized by the pointed shape of their seeds (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”, “Spinato di Gandino” and “Scagliolo di Carenno”) and the presence of pigments (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”). The pointed shape of the seeds is an ancient characteristic of maize-ancestors, which negatively affects the yield by not allowing optimal “filling” of the ear. This study reports work on four different Italian varieties of pointed maize in order to assess the genetic bases of the “pointed character” and to try to explain the reasons for this adaptation to the mountain environment. The data obtained by genetic analysis, seed air-drying modeling and thermographic camera observations demonstrated that the “pointed trait” is controlled by the same genes across the different varieties studied and suggested that this peculiar shape has been selected in mountainous areas because it promotes faster drying of the seed, with the presence of pigments implementing this effect.

Temperature Forecast Accuracies of Polish Proverbs

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-419
Author(s):  
Piotr Matczak ◽  
Dariusz Graczyk ◽  
Adam Choryński ◽  
Iwona Pińskwar ◽  
Viktoria Takacs
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Models ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Temperature Forecast ◽  
Skill Scores ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Second World ◽  
Source Of Information

AbstractProverbs are a part of traditional knowledge that has been increasingly acknowledged to be a valuable source of information for environmental policies. Proverbs on weather convey the cumulated experience of generations that provide guidelines for agricultural practices, everyday decisions, and other situations. Besides the value the proverbs have in their cultural setting, they also serve as an indicator of objective meteorological patterns. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the Polish temperature-related proverbs. From the collected corpus of more than 2000 Polish proverbs, 28 were related to temperature and provided concrete predictions and so were selected for further analysis. The proverbs were tested on the basis of temperature (minimum, maximum, and mean) data from 20 weather stations, located in Poland and the neighboring countries, for the period of 1951–2012. Harbingers and forecasts were identified and coded as 0 or 1. Proverb accuracies were then compared using Heidke skill scores and proportions of fulfilled proverbs. The proverbs’ spatial and temporal contingencies were tested via generalized linear mixed models. Some proverbs provided a high proportion (up to 79%) of fulfilled proverbs. Furthermore, the accuracy of the proverbs was reversely proportional to chronological date (decreased with time), with values increasing toward the east and north directions of station locations. The observed changes in proverb accuracies may be attributed to the shift of Polish borders following the Second World War and the respective migration of the population.

Gender and the Second World War

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Peniston-Bird ◽  
Emma Vickers
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Second World

Kapitalistische Krisen mit und ohne systemischer Herausforderung.

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (185) ◽  
pp. 543-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
World Market ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Deep Penetration ◽  
World War ◽  
Major Overhaul ◽  
Domestic Markets ◽  
Global Restructuring ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
Class Power ◽  
Second World

This article draws on Marxist theories of crises, imperialism, and class formation to identify commonalities and differences between the stagnation of the 1930s and today. Its key argument is that the anti-systemic movements that existed in the 1930s and gained ground after the Second World War pushed capitalists to turn from imperialist expansion and rivalry to the deep penetration of domestic markets. By doing so they unleashed strong economic growth that allowed for social compromise without hurting profits. Yet, once labour and other social movements threatened to shift the balance of class power into their favor, capitalist counter-reform began. In its course, global restructuring, and notably the integration of Russia and China into the world market, created space for accumulation. The cause for the current stagnation is that this space has been used up. In the absence of systemic challenges capitalists have little reason to seek a major overhaul of their accumulation strategies that could help to overcome stagnation. Instead they prop up profits at the expense of the subaltern classes even if this prolongs stagnation and leads to sharper social divisions.

Zabiegi likwidujące skutki obrzezania wykonywane w Warszawie w czasie drugiej wojny światowej. Wstępna próba opisu zjawiska

2017 ◽  
pp. 437-446
Author(s):  
Maria Ciesielska
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Tissue Preparation ◽  
World War ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Reconstruction Surgery ◽  
Repair Operation ◽  
Manual Treatment ◽  
Operating Technique ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Second World

Men’s circumcision is in many countries considered as a hygienic-cosmetic or aesthetic treatment. However, it still remains in close connection with religious rites (Judaism, Islam) and is still practiced all over the world. During the Second World War the visible effects of circumcision became an indisputable evidence of being a Jew and were often used especially by the so-called szmalcownicy (blackmailers). Fear of the possibility of discovering as non-Aryan prompted many Jews hiding on the so-called Aryan side of Warsaw to seek medical practitioners who would restore the condition as it was before the circumcision. The reconstruction surgery was called in surgical jargon “knife baptizing”. Almost all of the procedures were performed by Aryan doctors although four cases of hiding Jewish doctors participating in such procedures are known. Surgical technique consisted of the surgical formation of a new foreskin after tissue preparation and stretching it by manual treatment. The success of the repair operation depended on the patient’s cooperation with the doctor, the worst result was in children. The physicians described in the article and the operating technique are probably only a fragment of a broader activity, described meticulously by only one of the doctors – Dr. Janusz Skórski. This work is an attempt to describe the phenomenon based on the very scanty source material, but it seems to be the first such attempt for several decades.

Finnish refugee children’s experiences of Swedish refugee camps during the Second World War

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
Merja Paksuniemi
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Refugee Children ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
World War ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Decisive Importance ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Camp Life ◽  
Second World

This article seeks to demonstrate how Finnish refugee children experienced living in Swedish refugee camps during the Second World War (1939–1945). The study focuses on children’s opinions and experiences reflected through adulthood. The data were collected through retrospective interviews with six adults who experienced wartime as children in Finland and were evacuated to Sweden as refugees. Five of the interviewees were female and one of them was male. The study shows, it was of decisive importance to the refugee children’s well-being to have reliable adults around them during the evacuation and at the camps. The findings demonstrate that careful planning made a significant difference to the children´s adaptations to refugee camp life. The daily routines at the camp, such as regular meals, play time and camp school, reflected life at home and helped the children to continue their lives, even under challenging circumstances.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document