Land use affects the soil C sequestration in alpine environment, NE Italy

Soil carbon sequestration is strongly affected by soil properties, climate, and anthropogenic activities. Assessing these drivers is key to understanding the effect of land use on soil organic matter stabilization. We evaluated land use and soil depth influencing patterns of soil organic matter stabilization in three types of soil profiles located under the same pedogenetic matrix and alpine conditions but with different vegetation cover. The stock in soil organic carbon in the mean 0–20 cm layer increased from prairie (31.9 t ha−1) to prairie in natural reforestation (42 t ha−1) to forest (120 t ha−1), corresponding to increments of 1.3-fold prairie, for prairie in natural reforestation, and of 3.8-fold prairie for forest. The forest showed the highest humic carbon (21.7 g kg−1), which was 2.8 times greater than the prairie in natural reforestation and 4 times higher than the prairie. 13C-NMR spectroscopic measurements suggested a different C pattern. The prairie in natural reforestation and the prairie were characterized by a higher content in O,N-alkyl C with respect to the forest. Alkyl C and aromatic C in the prairie in natural reforestation and prairie did not show relevant differences while they decreased with respect to the forest. Carboxyl and phenolic C groups were markedly higher in forest and prairie than prairie in natural reforestation. Alkyl C, carboxyl C, and phenolic C prevailed in the Ah horizons whereas aromatic C and O,N-alkyl C were dominant in the B horizons. Overall, the marked distribution of O,N-alkyl C and alkyl C in humic substances (HS) indicates a low degree of humification. Nevertheless, in forest, the relatively high presence of aromatic C designated HS endowed with a relatively high humification degree. Thus, our results might suggest that in the alpine environment of NE Italy differences in soil organic matter (SOM) stocks and characteristics are affected by land use and anthropic activities

Three-dimensional virtual bone bank system workflow for structural bone allograft selection: a technical report

Structural bone allograft has been used in bone defect reconstruction during the last fifty years with acceptable results. However, allograft selection methods were based on 2-dimensional templates using X-rays.Thanks to preoperative planning platforms, three dimensional (3D) CT-derived bone models were used to define size and shape comparison between host and donor. The purpose of this study was to describe the workflow of this virtual technique in order to explain how to choose the best allograft using a virtualbone bank system. We measured all bones in a 3D virtual environment determining the best match. The use of a virtual bone banksystem has allowed optimizing the allograft selection in a bone bank, providing more information to the surgeons before surgery.In conclusion, 3D preoperative planning in a virtual environment for allograft selection is an important and helpful tool in order to achieve a good match between host and donor.Fil: Ritacco, Lucas. Hospital Italiano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Farfalli, Germán Luis. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Milano, Federico Edgardo. Hospital Italiano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ayerza, Miguel Ángel. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Muscolo, Domingo L.. Hospital Italiano; Argentina. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Aponte Tinao, Luis. Hospital Italiano; Argentin

(DE) Construyendo las barreras sociales : nuevos imaginarios sociales

La celebración del año internacional de las personas con discapacidad es un marco idóneo para que las personas con discapacidades y sus familias den una vez más, a conocer sus realidades y seguir reivindicando los recursos y servicios que necesitan, y por los que tantos años han luchando. Esta celebración debería ser también un marco de encuentro entre aquellas personas que tienen algún tipo de discapacidad con las que no las tienen, y de ese modo intentar romper con la barrera social que nos separa y permitir una convivencia plena de todos los ciudadanos; barreras que no sólo deben ser eliminadas en función de que existe un grupo de personas discapacitadas, sino que deberían caer en el conjunto de la sociedad. Desde esta mirada, la creación de fronteras forma parte de la vida cotidiana y se torna como algo ¿natural¿. Creemos que desde el trabajo social, es importante entender que aquello que se nos aparece como natural, en muchas ocasiones no lo es y que forma parte de las construcciones simbólicas de una sociedad. En nuestra aproximación a las diferencias, como trabajadores sociales y como ciudadanos, debemos estar advertidos que corremos el riesgo de acercarnos a este entramado complejo desde la lógica binaria/reduccionista de: capacitado ¿o¿ discapacitado, y el gran reto, entendemos, está en abordar, en con-versar desde la única lógica posible para la eliminación de barreras sociales, que es la de: (RE)CAPACITAR LA DISCAPACIDAD.The celebration to the International Year of the handicapped persons is a good framework to allow the handicapped persons and their families to show, once more, theirs realities and to continue claiming the needed resources and services they have been fighting for during all these years. This celebration would be also a meeting point between handicapped and not handicapped people in order to break with the social barriers separating us and to allow all the citizens to live together: social barriers that should fall in all the society, not only with handicapped people. From this point of view, creating social barriers is part of the quotidian life and frequently it is taken as something natural. We think that from the social work profession it is important to understand that what sometimes seems to be natural, usually it is not as natural but a symbolic construction of society. In our approach to differences as social workers and as citizens, we must be aware of the risk of trying to understand this complex matrix from a binary or reductionist logic of caped or not, and the great challenge is to talk from the only possible logic in order to eliminate the social barriers: (RE)THINK THE DISABILIT

Anàlisi dels resultats i consideracions per l'aplicació a l'assignatura d'habilitats socials i comunicatives

Presentació de resultats de la prova de rúbrica d'avaluació CPA de l'assignatura d'Habilitats Socials i Comunicatives del Grau de Treball Socia

Allograft Selection for Transepiphyseal Tumor Resection Around the Knee Using Three-Dimensional Surface Registration

Transepiphyseal tumor resection is a common surgical procedure in patients with malignant bone tumors. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a computer-assisted method for selecting the most appropriate allograft from a cadaver bone bank. Fifty tibiae and femora were 3D reconstructed from computed tomography (CT) images. A transepiphyseal resection was applied to all of them in a virtual environment. A tool was developed and evaluated that compares each metaphyseal piece against all other bones in the data bank. This is done through a template matching process, where the template is extracted from the contralateral healthy bone of the same patient. The method was validated using surface distance metrics and statistical tests comparing it against manual methods. The developed algorithm was able to accurately detect the bone segment that best matches the patient's anatomy. The automatic method showed improvement over the manual counterpart. The proposed method also substantially reduced computation time when compared to state-of-the-art methods as well as the manual selection. Our findings suggest that the accuracy, robustness, and speed of the developed method are suitable for clinical trials and that it can be readily applied for preoperative allograft selectio

Is the Fama French Five Factor model still working?

Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business, Accounting and Business Control - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2020Many different asset pricing models have been developed over the years, in order to understand how the risk of an investment should affect the expected return. None of the models developed seem to be completely exempt from criticism, but many economists prefer the Fama French Five factor model. The aim of this paper is to verify if the five factors of the model are still relevant and significant nowadays, in order to explain the expected return of an investment. At the beginning of the study, a lot of focus has been addressed to the validity of the value factor. Contrary to the initial expectations, our results show that this factor is still relevant to explain the average expected return. On the contrary there are other factors which may need further analysis and of which validity is questionable. KEYWORDS: Asset pricing, stock returns, Fama-French 5 factor model, factors, risk, momentum factor, beta

Manipulating the antioxidant capacity of halophytes to increase their cultural and economic value through saline cultivation

Halophytes, salt-tolerant plants, are a source of valuable secondary metabolites with potential economic value. The steady-state pools of many stress-related metabolites are already enhanced in halophytes when compared with glycophytes, but growth under conditions away from the optimum can induce stress and consequently result in changes to secondary metabolites such as antioxidants. However, direct evidence for increasing the concentration of valuable secondary metabolites as a consequence of altering the salinity of the growing environment still remains equivocal. To address this, we analysed a range of metabolites with antioxidant capacity (including total phenols, flavonoids, ascorbate, reduced/oxidized glutathione and reactive oxygen species scavenging enzymes) in seedlings and plants from different families (Amaranthaceae, Brassicaceae, Plantaginaceae and Rhizophoraceae) and habitats grown under different salt concentrations. We show that it is possible to manipulate the antioxidant capacity of plants and seedlings by altering the saline growing environment, the length of time under saline cultivation and the developmental stage. Among the species studied, the halophytes Tripolium pannonicum, Plantago coronopus, Lepidium latifolium and Salicornia europaea demonstrated the most potential as functional foods or nutraceuticals.Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt/AZ/27708COST/STSM/FA/0901-041011-011415DEFR

Kinetic Sculpture in Theatre and Live Entertainment

Technology dominates contemporary “theatre,” but the theatre is often the last industry to see innovations. Instead, the technical field operates on leftovers from entertainment, visual art, or industrial settings. The technological differences between these areas begin to blur; the differences lay only in their execution and intention. Some companies such as Cirque du Soliel, Diavolo, and Chunky Move blend technology and performance until the two become indivisible. This technology is being developed in an effort to lessen boundaries and create new opportunities that could not otherwise happen onstage. Through this thesis I will develop a basic understanding of the machinery and software platforms used to create kinetic rain sculpture, it’s uses in visual art versus industrial settings, and how this can manifest in live theatre. A case study of Chunky Move’s piece Connected examines what happens when machinery is subtracted and integrated with human artists; how it can elevate and transcend beyond the performer. I will also examine how these elements interact between performers, choreographers and technicians; and how each are educated, trained and integrated with technology throughout the rehearsal process. Then I will use my understanding of kinetic rain’s mechanics to predict new ways this system can be used as a scenic element and for stage action

Estímulo no crescimento e na hidrólise de ATP em raízes de alface tratadas com humatos de vermicomposto: i - efeito da concentração.

O vermicomposto contém uma concentração elevada de substâncias húmicas e já é bem conhecido o efeito do seu uso sobre as propriedades do solo. No entanto,a ação direta das substâncias húmicas sobre o metabolismo das plantas é menos conhecida. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o uso de humatos extraídos de vermicomposto de esterco de curral com KOH 0,1 mol L-1 sobre o desenvolvimento e metabolismo de ATP em plântulas de alface. Após a germinação, plântulas de alface foram tratadas com os humatos em concentrações que variaram de 0 a 100 mg L-1 de C, durante quinze dias. Foram avaliados o crescimento da raiz e a atividade das bombas de H+ isoladas da fração microssomal do sistema radicular. Foi observado aumento na matéria fresca e seca do sistema radicular, bem como no número de sítios de mitose, raízes emergidas do eixo principal, na área e no comprimento radiculares, com o uso do humato na concentração de 25 mg L-1 de C. Também foi observado, nessa concentração, aumento significativo na hidrólise de ATP pelas bombas de H+, responsáveis pela geração de energia necessária à absorção de íons e pelo crescimento celular

Preface

One of the current challenges in plant biology is the development of quantitative phenotyping approaches to link the genotype and the environment to plant structural, functional, and yield characteristics in order to meet the growing demands for sustainable food, feed, and fuel. The genotype of a plant consists of all of the hereditary information within the individual, whilst the phenotype, which represents the morphological, physiological, anatomical, and developmental characteristics, is the result of the interaction between the genotype and the environment. Understanding this interaction is one of the major challenges in plant sciences. In plant breeding, the ultimate goal is the improvement of traits of agricultural importance related to disease resistance, high yields, and the plant’s ability to grow in unfavourable environmental conditions. Currently, breeding approaches produce an annual yield increase of approximately 1% for major crops, which is below the over 2% increase needed to meet the global demands for food by 2050 (Ray et al., 2013).Rapid developments in plant molecular biology and in molecular-based breeding techniques have resulted in an increasing number of species being sequenced and large collections of mutants, accessions, and recombinant lines allowing detailed analysis of gene functions. High-definition genotyping can now be carried out on thousands of plants in an automated way at continuously decreasing costs, thereby facilitating association genetics and the determination of multi-parental quantitative trait loci (QTLs) (Poland and Rife, 2012). For transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses large, often robotized, platforms are available allowing detailed characterization of the biochemical status of plants at a reasonable cost (Ehrhardt and Frommer, 2012). By contrast, an understanding of the link between genotype and phenotype has progressed more slowly and is the major limiting step i