Description of three populations of Xiphinema dentatum Sturhan, 1978 from Yugoslavia and observation on X. turcicum Luc & Dalmasso, 1964 (Nematoda : Longidoridae)

Trois populations de #Xiphinema dentatum provenant de régions montagneuses de Yougoslavie sont décrites. Les caractéristiques morphologiques et biométriques sont étudiées et comparées avec celles des autres populations de #X. dentatum précédemment décrites pour réévaluer la variabilité et les limites de cette espèce. Des épines ont été observées pour la première fois dans l'utérus de spécimens de la population type de #X. turcicum$. (Résumé d'auteur

Integrating ATLAS.ti into an undergraduate qualitative research course : evaluating students' experiences

This paper describes an evaluation of a qualitative research course for undergraduate psychology students at IE University (Instituto de Empresa, Segovia, Spain) by analyzing students' perceptions and experiences as gathered through an open-ended questionnaire. Students studied qualitative methods, learned to use the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) ATLAS.ti, and applied their knowledge in a case study research project on the leadership of an international company. Overall perceptions of the course are positive, and students generally valued the learning and practical experience they gained. The students recognized this course as an important complement to their predominantly quantitative curriculum. As a result, this paper encourages other interested lecturers and professors of undergraduate students to integrate CAQDAS into their own qualitative research curricula

Tainted ores and the rise of tin bronzes in Eurasia, c. 6500 years ago

The earliest tin bronze artefacts in Eurasia are generally believed to have appeared in the Near East in the early third millennium BC. Here we present tin bronze artefacts that occur far from the Near East, and in a significantly earlier period. Excavations at Pločnik, a Vinča culture site in Serbia, recovered a piece of tin bronze foil from an occupation layer dated to the mid fifth millennium BC. The discovery prompted a reassessment of 14 insufficiently contextualised early tin bronze artefacts from the Balkans. They too were found to derive from the smelting of copper-tin ores. These tin bronzes extend the record of bronze making by c. 1500 years, and challenge the conventional narrative of Eurasian metallurgical development

The impact of atrazine on several biochemical properties of chernozem soil

The impact of the pesticide atrazine on biochemical processes in soil was investigated. Atrazine loadings of 8.0, 40.0 and 80.0 mg/kg soil were laboratory tested in an experiment set up on a clay loam soil. Dehydrogenase activity, change in biomass carbon, soil respiration and metabolic coefficient were examined. The samples were collected for analysis 1, 7, 14, 21, 30 and 60 days after atrazine application. The acquired data indicated that the effect of atrazine on the biochemical activity of the soil depended on its application rate and duration of activity, and the effect was either stimulating or inhibiting. However, the detected changes were found to be transient, indicating that there is no real risk of the compound disrupting the balance of biochemical processes in soil

Multiple Single-Unit Long-Term Tracking on Organotypic Hippocampal Slices Using High-Density Microelectrode Arrays

A novel system to cultivate and record from organotypic brain slices directly on high-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEA) was developed. This system allows for continuous recording of electrical activity of specific individual neurons at high spatial resolution while monitoring at the same time, neuronal network activity. For the first time, the electrical activity patterns of single neurons and the corresponding neuronal network in an organotypic hippocampal slice culture were studied during several consecutive weeks at daily intervals. An unsupervised iterative spike-sorting algorithm, based on PCA and k-means clustering, was developed to assign the activities to the single units. Spike-triggered average extracellular waveforms of an action potential recorded across neighboring electrodes, termed ‘footprints’ of single-units were generated and tracked over weeks. The developed system offers the potential to study chronic impacts of drugs or genetic modifications on individual neurons in slice preparations over extended times

The Healing Of Stories: International Teachers’ Lived Experiences Of School Culture Using The Hourglass Model For Mindful Reflections

School culture affects all facets of teaching and learning. Starting from individual international teachers’ perspectives and their accounts relating to school culture, new insights and perspectives on the problem of practice were gained. The research focused on answering the questions: What are teachers’ experiences of school culture in international schools? What are teachers’ perspectives on critical components in developing a positive school culture? What was helpful to teachers when experiencing the positive and negative aspects of a school culture? A qualitative narrative research methodology involved interviewing ten international teachers who taught in K-12 grade schools in Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America, and Europe. These international teachers’ voices and stories were grouped into the dimensions of People, Places, Practices, and Philosophies. Over 20 stories from the participants were collected to find recurring themes. The international teachers evaluated their current and most recent experiences to find closure, heal, or advocate for change when faced with the negative aspects of a school culture in their current contexts. The participants confirmed the significance of the phenomenon of school culture offering their perspectives on the ways it could be improved. The three dominant themes emerged: Cultural Exchange, Belonging, and Resilience as a response to the individual research questions. The themes highlighted the important areas to address in international teacher education. The Hourglass Model for Mindful Reflections is the Artifact III as the product of this research. This Model allows pre-service and in-service teachers to reflect on their situations and personal contexts acknowledging their choices and actions, providing healing and catharsis. With this, the research attempts to ‘restory’ justice for international teachers. As school culture goes beyond the context of international schools, the research results could be extended to other schools’ contexts worldwide