Assessment of the woody plant species vital condition distributed on the devastated lands of the iron ore dump

The actuality of the research is caused by the importance of understanding the laws of natural distribution of woody and shrub plant species on devastated lands of iron ore dumps of Kryviy Rih as a theoretical prerequisite for harmonizing the ecological environment of industrial regions. The aim of the research is to assess the current vital condition of woody and shrub plant species that naturally grow on devastated lands of the iron ore dump from the standpoint of the ecosystem approach. The materials of the work were the results of our own research, which were carried out according to generally accepted methods during 2020–2021 on the territory of Petrovsky waste rock dump of Kryviy Rih iron ore basin. The assessment of the current vital condition was carried out according to the method of V. A. Alekseyev. Presently, the vegetation on Petrovsky waste rock dump, which is a model for the region, is represented by natural groups, has a fragmented character and is a sparse forest. It has been established that 32 species of woody and shrub plant species (25 genera and 15 families) naturally grow within Petrovsky waste rock dump. The current vital condition of woody and shrub plant species in the dump was assessed as «weakened» (65–71 conventional points by V. A. Alekseyev’s scale). Such numerical values of the vitality of the forest stand are 21–28% lower than the control indicators (natural groupings of Gurivka forest). Our results indicate that the ecological conditions of the devastated lands of Petrovsky waste rock dump are relatively favourable for the growth and development of woody and shrub plant species. It was found that European birch (Betula pendula Roth.), ash-leaved maple (Acer negundo L.) and acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) are quite adapted to the habitat conditions of the dump. The vital condition of these species was assessed as «healthy»: 90–95 conventional points by V. A. Alekseyev’s scale.

On the issue of traumatic heart damage without perforation of the heart shirt

According to the anatomical localization of traumatic heart injuries, surgeons (Napalkov, Chugaev, Fisher, Ikovitz, etc.) are divided into the following three natural groups: 1) joint damage to the heart and bursa, 2) damage to one bursa, and 3) damage to one heart with an intact heart shirt.

Taxonomic notes on some species in the genus Clausena (Rutaceae) in China based on molecular and morphological data

Clausena (Rutaceae) is only one genus native both to the Monsoon region and to tropical and subtropical Africa in the subfamily Aurantioideae. The most distinctive morphological character in this genus is the gynophore supporting the ovary and the morphology of pistil can help to define the natural groups of species. Based on the morphological data of flowers and molecular phylogeny of ITS, trnL-F and atpB-rbcL, the taxonomic problems of some species in China are resolved here. The species C. lenis has a separate status in the genus Clausena, then C. lansium stands apart from other species except C. lenis; the species status of five species, C. odorata, C. vestita, C. dunniana, C. emarginata, and C. anisum-olens are restated.

Preferences and beliefs in intergroup conflict

Participation in intergroup conflict is often framed as a matter of ‘in-group love’ or ‘out-group hate’. Indeed, theoretical accounts including social identity theory and parochial altruism suggest that such group-based preferences are inextricably linked. According to this view, individuals engage in intergroup conflict, including harmful behaviour towards out-group members, in order to improve the relative standing of their in-group. However, individuals may also engage in intergroup conflict to reciprocate beneficial behaviour from their in-group members or harmful behaviour from out-group members. We elicited both preferences towards in-group and out- group members and beliefs about in-group and out-group members’ behaviours prior to playing an experimental conflict game with natural groups (N = 973). In this game, individuals could engage in costly behaviour to either benefit their in-group (without consequences to the out-group) or to both benefit their in-group and harm the out-group. In this setting, both preferences and beliefs contributed to explaining in-group beneficial and out-group harming behaviour. However, beliefs played an overall stronger role than preferences in explaining behaviour. This suggests that participation in intergroup conflict is better explained by positive and negative reciprocity than purely by group-based preferences.

Sensibilización hacia la discapacidad a través de un programa integrado de Educación Deportiva y Aprendizaje-Servicio (Disability awareness through an integrated program of sport education and service-learning)

Lograr la aceptación de sus compañeros es una de las estrategias exitosas para favorecer la inclusión del alumnado con necesidades educativas especiales en el aula. La Educación Física (EF) es una de las áreas que ofrece más oportunidades de inclusión. Los objetivos de este trabajo son: (1) presentar una propuesta didáctica que tiene como meta sensibilizar hacia la discapacidad utilizando la integración del Aprendizaje-Servicio (ApS) en el modelo de Educación Deportiva (MED) mediante un deporte adaptado (voleibol sentado); (2) evaluar la percepción del profesorado participante; (3) ofrecer propuestas de mejora para futuras implementaciones. Participaron 181 estudiantes de tercer curso de Educación Secundaria (ES) (n= 80) y de quinto curso de Educación Primaria (EP) (n= 101). El programa consistió en la creación de dos redes deportivas formadas por dos grupos naturales de ES y otros dos de EP en cada una de las redes. Todos los alumnos vivenciaron en EF una temporada MED a la que se añadieron tres acciones ApS celebradas durante los recreos, siendo los alumnos de ES los emisores del servicio. La unión de los integrantes de la red se creó mediante los elementos distintivos del MED. La sensibilización se realizó a través de la simulación de la discapacidad. Los resultados mostraron una percepción positiva del profesorado, quienes destacaron, además de otros beneficios, el desarrollo de la sensibilización en el alumnado de EP y de la empatía en el de ES. Se discuten las barreras y facilitadores detectados, así como se destacan aspectos clave para potenciar los objetivos educativos. Abstract. Achieving acceptance by peers is one of the successful strategies to stimulate the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) within their class group. Physical Education is one of the areas that offers more opportunities of inclusion. The objectives of this paper are (1) present a didactic proposal that aims to raise awareness about disability through the integration of Service-Learning (S-L) in the Sport Education Model (SEM) using an adapted sport (sitting volleyball); (2) evaluate the perception of the participant teachers; (3) offer improvement proposals for future implementations. 181 students from the third year of Secondary Education (SE) (n = 80) and from the fifth year of Primary Education (PE) (n = 101) participated. The program consisted of the creation of two sports networks formed by two natural groups from SE and two from PE in each of the networks. All the students experienced a SE season at Physical Education in which three S-L actions during recesses were added, with SE students being the service providers. Network members affiliation was promoted through SE characteristics. Awareness was integrated through the simulation of physical disability. The results showed a positive perception of the teachers who highlighted, beside to other benefits, the development of awareness in PE students and of empathy in SE students. Barriers and facilitators are discussed, as well as key aspects to enhance pedagogical goals.

DIVERSITY AND PHENETIC STUDY ON SYCONIUM OF FICUS L. (MORACEAE) FROM KERALA, INDIA REVEALING NATURAL CLASSIFICATION ALONG WITH AN IDENTIFICATION KEY

NAIR, S. S., BACHAN, K. H. A. & EBIN, P. J. 2021. Diversity and phenetic study on syconium of Ficus L. (Moraceae) from Kerala, India revealing natural classification along with an identification key. Reinwardtia 20(1): 27–36. — Ficus L. commonly called ‘figs’ is one of the most complex genera among the angiosperms with its specialised inflorescence called syconium that looks like a fruit. Syconium of 33 species of Ficus reported from Kerala were observed here to develop a novel key, solely based on syconium morphology. Numerical taxonomic methodology for syconium morphological characters were standardised, considering 22 characters with 104 character states and analysed using similarity clustering. The floral features of the genus are very much complex and all the existing keys for the species identification relays on both vegetative as well as floral features. Hence, the present key will be practical in use when syconium is the only available part. The numerical analysis of the syconium features well clustered and separated the trees with cauliflorous inflorescence, hemi epiphytic -epiphytic life forms and independent trees similar to the natural classification of the figs as “Atthi, Itthi and Aal”, indicating that phenetic analysis using the syconium characters alone provided a grouping similar to the natural grouping based on the habit. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of figs also provided a similar clustering. This gives an insight into the fact that the separation of figs into these natural groups is reflecting phylogenetic trait. Detailed studies including more morphological traits and molecular analysis could establish the phylogenetic relation of figs in relation to the evolutionary history of climate and vegetation.

Residential flood loss estimated from Bayesian multilevel models

Models for the predictions of monetary losses from floods mainly blend data deemed to represent a single flood type and region. Moreover, these approaches largely ignore indicators of preparedness and how predictors may vary between regions and events, challenging the transferability of flood loss models. We use a flood loss database of 1812 German flood-affected households to explore how Bayesian multilevel models can estimate normalised flood damage stratified by event, region, or flood process type. Multilevel models acknowledge natural groups in the data and allow each group to learn from others. We obtain posterior estimates that differ between flood types, with credibly varying influences of water depth, contamination, duration, implementation of property-level precautionary measures, insurance, and previous flood experience; these influences overlap across most events or regions, however. We infer that the underlying damaging processes of distinct flood types deserve further attention. Each reported flood loss and affected region involved mixed flood types, likely explaining the uncertainty in the coefficients. Our results emphasise the need to consider flood types as an important step towards applying flood loss models elsewhere. We argue that failing to do so may unduly generalise the model and systematically bias loss estimations from empirical data.

Pool testing on random and natural clusters of individuals: Optimisation of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in the presence of low viral load samples

Facing the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic requires intensive testing on the population to early identify and isolate infected subjects. During the first emergency phase of the epidemic, RT-qPCR on nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs, which is the most reliable technique to detect ongoing infections, exhibited limitations due to availability of reagents and budget constraints. This stressed the need to develop screening procedures that require fewer resources and are suitable to be extended to larger portions of the population. RT-qPCR on pooled samples from individual NP swabs seems to be a promising technique to improve surveillance. We performed preliminary experimental analyses aimed to investigate the performance of pool testing on samples with low viral load and we evaluated through Monte Carlo (MC) simulations alternative screening protocols based on sample pooling, tailored to contexts characterized by different infection prevalence. We focused on the role of pool size and the opportunity to develop strategies that take advantage of natural clustering structures in the population, e.g. families, school classes, hospital rooms. Despite the use of a limited number of specimens, our results suggest that, while high viral load samples seem to be detectable even in a pool with 29 negative samples, positive specimens with low viral load may be masked by the negative samples, unless smaller pools are used. The results of MC simulations confirm that pool testing is useful in contexts where the infection prevalence is low. The gain of pool testing in saving resources can be very high, and can be optimized by selecting appropriate group sizes. Exploiting natural groups makes the definition of larger pools convenient and potentially overcomes the issue of low viral load samples by increasing the probability of identifying more than one positive in the same pool.

Character Polarity and Inferring Homology

This chapter assesses character polarity and homology. Prior to the advent of computer-based analyses, German entomologist and systematic theorist Willi Hennig and other cladistic pioneers routinely used prepolarized characters to construct their phylogenetic hypotheses and developed a specialized terminology to describe their practices. In Hennig's view, all the states of a character — be they plesiomorphic, apomorphic, or homoplastic — are homologous. He argued that synapomorphies — shared derived characters — provide the only evidence for the existence of natural groups. This is the fundamental aspect of his arguments for the phylogenetic system; all of Hennig's other principles are subsidiary to it. Thus, in the Hennigian view, synapomorphy is the only “kind” of homology that bears upon patterns of relationship, a distinction that has led many cladists to equate the two terms.

Residential flood loss estimated from Bayesian multilevel models

Model predictions of monetary losses from floods mainly use physical metrics like inundation depth or building characteristics but largely ignore indicators of preparedness. The role of such predictors may vary between regions and events, challenging the transferability of flood loss models. We use a flood loss database of 1812 German flood-affected households to explore how Bayesian multilevel models can estimate normalised flood damage stratified by event, region, or flood process type. Multilevel models acknowledge natural groups in the data and allow each group to learn from others. We obtain posterior estimates that differ between flood types, with credibly varying influences of water depth, contamination, duration, implementation of property-level precautionary measures, insurance, and previous flood experience; these influences overlap across most events or regions, however. We infer that the underlying damaging processes of distinct flood types deserve further attention. Each reported flood loss and affected region involved mixed flood types, likely explaining the uncertainty in the coefficients. Our results emphasise the need to consider flood types as an important step towards applying flood loss models elsewhere. We argue that failing to do so may complicate reliable loss estimation from empirical data.