An Approach for a more Objective Evaluation of Practical Projects, Used in the Training Process

Well–prepared, adaptive and sustainably developing specialists are an important competitive advantage, but also one of the main challenges for businesses. One option of the education system for creation and development of staff adequate to the needs is the development of pro jects with topics from real economy ("Practical Projects"). The objective assessment is an essential driver and motivator, and is based on a system of well-chosen, well-defined and specific criteria and indicators. An approach to a more objective evaluation of practical projects is finding more objective weights of the criteria. A natural and reasonable approach is the accumulation of opinions of proven experts and subsequent bringing out the weights from the accumulated data. The preparation and conduction of a survey among recognized experts in the field of project-based learning in mathematics, informatics and information technologies is described. The processing of the data accumulated by applying AHP, allowed us to objectively determine weights of evaluation criteria and hence to achieve the desired objectiveness. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): K.3.2.

Stylization: a method for preserving the character of climate sensitive habitat

Stylization is a method of ornamental plant use usually applied in urban open space and garden design based on aesthetic consideration. Stylization can be seen as a nature-imitating ornamental plant application which evokes the scenery rather than an ecological plant application which assists the processes and functions observed in the nature. From a different point of view, stylization of natural or semi-natural habitats can sometimes serve as a method for preserving the physiognomy of the plant associations that may be affected by the climate change of the 21st century. The vulnerability of the Hungarian habitats has thus far been examined by the researchers only from the botanical point of view but not in terms of its landscape design value. In Hungary coniferous forests are edaphic and classified on this basis. The General National Habitat Classification System (Á-NÉR) distinguishes calcareous Scots pine forests and acidofrequent coniferous forests. The latter seems to be highly sensitive to climate change according to ecological models. The physiognomy and species pool of its subtypes are strongly determined by the dominant coniferous species that can be Norway spruce (Picea abies) or Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). We are going to discuss the methodology of stylization of climate sensitive habitats and briefly refer to acidofrequent coniferous forests as a case study. In the course of stylization those coniferous and deciduous tree species of the studied habitat that are water demanding should be substituted by drought tolerant ones with similar characteristics. A list of the proposed taxa is going to be given.

Diversity of Hymenoptera, cultivated plants and management practices in home garden agroecosystems, Kyrgyz Republic

Pollination-dependent fruit trees grown in home gardens play an important role in the agricultural based economy of Central Asian countries, yet little is known about the status of pollinator communities, the cultivated plant composition or the factors that influence management practices in Kyrgyz home garden agroecosystems. As agricultural systems are human created and managed, a logical approach to their study blends anthropological and ecological methods, an ethnoecological approach. Over three years, I investigated how species richness and abundance of Hymenoptera, cultivated plants, and home garden management were related using quantitative and qualitative methods in the Issyk-kul Man and Biosphere reserve. Structured surveys were undertaken with heads of households using a random sample stratified by village. Gardens were then mapped with participation of household members to inventory edible species in gardens, most of which are pollinator-dependent, and to compare home garden diversity as reported by respondents during interviews. Apple diversity was studied to the variety level to understand respondents’ classification system in the context of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. Household members identified 52 edible plant species when mapping the garden, compared with 32 reported when interviewed. The proportion of plant species received from others through exchange and the number of plots cultivated significantly explained the variation in edible plant diversity among gardens. Insects were sampled in gardens and orchards to determine potential pollinator community composition and the effect of different management practices on Hymenoptera richness and abundance. I collected 756 Hymenoptera individuals (56 bee; 12 wasp species); 12 species were new records for Kyrgyzstan or within Kyrgyzstan. Economic pressures to intensify cultivation could impact management practices that currently promote diversity. A home garden development initiative was undertaken to study management practice improvement. Participants in the initiative had higher adoption rates than controls of management practices that improve long-term yield, ecological sustainability and stability of home gardens. Home gardens, as currently managed, support abundant and diverse pollinator communities and have high cultivated plant diversity with few differences in community composition between garden management types.

Analysis of Heterokaryon Formation in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense.

Fusarium oxysporum forma specialis cubense is a soilborne phytopathogen that infects banana. The true evolutionary identity of this so called species, Fusarium oxysporum, is still unknown. Many techniques have been applied in order to gain insight for the observed genetic diversity of this species. The current classification system is based on vegetative compatibility groups (VCG's). Vegetative compatibility is a self non-self recognition system in which only those belonging to a VCG can form stable heterokaryons, cells containing two distinct nuclei. Heterokaryons in turn, are formed from hypha! anastomosis, the fusion of two hyphae. Furthermore, subsequent to heterokaryon formation potential mechanisms exist which may generate genetic variability. One is through viral transfer upon hyphal anastomosis. The other mechanism is a form of mitotic recombination referred to as the parasexual cycle. Very little research has been performed to directly obser.ve the cellular events; hypha! anastomosis, heterokaryon formation, and the parasexual cycle in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense. The purpose of this research was to design and use methods which would allow for the detection of hypha! anastomosis and heterokaryon formation, as well as any characteristics surrounding this event, within and between VCG's in Foe. First, some general growth properties were recorded: the number of nuclei per hypha, the size ofthe hyphal tip cell, the size of the cell adjacent to the hypha! tip (pre-tip) cell, and the number of cells to the first branch point. Second, four methods were designed in order to assay hyphal anastomosis and heterokaryon formation: 1) pairings on membrane: phase or brightfield microscopy, 2) pairings on membrane: fluorescence microscopy, 3) spore crosses: fluorescence microscopy, and 4) double picks in fractionated MMA. All of these methods were promtsmg.

The Role of GIS in DRR: Classifying and Improving GIS Capabilities in Small Towns and Rural Areas

Optimizing GIS capability does not always require that the municipality obtain cutting edge professionals and resources. This paper offers a disaster risk reduction (DRR) design methodology for small towns and rural areas that employs a multi-variable classification system, enabling customization for effective DRR. Determining appropriate GIS capacity requires that a community first be evaluated in order to identify its disaster risk reduction/disaster management (DRR/DM) requirements. These requirements are then considered in conjunction with the municipality's resources to establish the desired capability. Qualification levels for major aspects of GIS capability with respect to DRR/DM are provided along with descriptions of each level and suggested procedures for advancement to the next level. It should be noted that a municipality can be classified at a different level with respect to different variables. Needs vary according to the community, thus attainment of a uniform capability level may not be necessary.

Diversity of Hymenoptera, Cultivated Plants and Management Practices in Home Garden Agroecosystems, Kyrgyz Republic

Pollination-dependent fruit trees grown in home gardens play an important role in the agricultural based economy of Central Asian countries, yet little is known about the status of pollinator communities, the cultivated plant composition or the factors that influence management practices in Kyrgyz home garden agroecosystems. As agricultural systems are human created and managed, a logical approach to their study blends anthropological and ecological methods, an ethnoecological approach. Over three years, I investigated how species richness and abundance of Hymenoptera, cultivated plants, and home garden management were related using quantitative and qualitative methods in the Issyk-kul Man and Biosphere reserve. Structured surveys were undertaken with heads of households using a random sample stratified by village. Gardens were then mapped with participation of household members to inventory edible species in gardens, most of which are pollinator-dependent, and to compare home garden diversity as reported by respondents during interviews. Apple diversity was studied to the variety level to understand respondents’ classification system in the context of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. Household members identified 52 edible plant species when mapping the garden, compared with 32 reported when interviewed. The proportion of plant species received from others through exchange and the number of plots cultivated significantly explained the variation in edible plant diversity among gardens. Insects were sampled in gardens and orchards to determine potential pollinator community composition and the effect of different management practices on Hymenoptera richness and abundance. I collected 756 Hymenoptera individuals (56 bee; 12 wasp species); 12 species were new records for Kyrgyzstan or within Kyrgyzstan. Economic pressures to intensify cultivation could impact management practices that currently promote diversity. A home garden development initiative was undertaken to study management practice improvement. Participants in the initiative had higher adoption rates than controls of management practices that improve long-term yield, ecological sustainability and stability of home gardens. Home gardens, as currently managed, support abundant and diverse pollinator communities and have high cultivated plant diversity with few differences in community composition between garden management types.

A BRDF-BPDF database for the analysis of Earth targets reflectances

A database of representative BRDF and BPDF derived from the POLDER measurements. From the huge amount of data acquired by the spaceborne instrument over a period of 7 years, we selected a set of targets with high quality observations. The selection aimed at a large number of observations, free of cloud or aerosol contamination, acquired in diverse observation geometry with a focus on the backscatter direction that shows the specific Hot-Spot signature. The targets are sorted according to the 16-classes IGBP land cover classification system and the target selection aims at a spatial representativeness within the class. The database thus provides a set of high quality BRDF and BPDF samples that can be used to assess the typical variability of natural surface reflectances or to evaluate models.

Análise de estabilidade de falésias na zona costeira de Baía Formosa - RN

The natural and anthropogenic changes that are occurring at the coastal zone around the world represent the greatest problem to society in this century. This problem becomes more evident due to high density of coastal cities, to growing tourist-estate speculation of those areas and to climate change that tend to trigger and accelerate the erosive processes that operating in the littoral. In this context, it‟s possible perceive ever more a significant increase of problems associated to the coastal erosion and retreat of cliffs in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, where this study area of this search is located. The area is located in the coastal zone of the city of Baía Formosa/RN, in south-eastern coast of Rio Grande do Norte, and has a extension of about 1200 meters along the Porto beach. The main objective of this study is to analyze the stability of these cliffs in this region. Through field investigations, testings and computational analysis using the Finite Element Method and Equilibrium Limit Methods. The area was divided into four sections, and were applied checklists, and also realized characterization tests and direct shear tests with materials obtained along these sections. In this manner, it was found that the segments of cliff in this coastal zone have heights around 4 meters to 14 meters and inclinations of approximately 40° to 90°.However the constituents soils of the cliffs were classified, in general terms in accordance to Unified Soil Classification System (USCS), as clayey sands or silty sands, clays of low plasticity, clayey gravels and poorly graduaded sands. The most variegated and clayey soils belong to base of the cliff. The stability analysis showed that the safety factors ranged in section 01, from 1.92 to 4.93, in the section 02, from 1.00 to 1.43, in the section 03, from 1.36 to 1.75 , and section 04, from 1.00 to 3.64. Thus, the sections 02 and 03 were considered more unstable. However, the section 03 can be considered as the most critical section due to the absence of coastal protection structures and the narrow strip of beach.

Classificação de nódulos pulmonares em imagens tomográficas utilizando redes neurais artificiais em cascata

Lung cancer is the most common of malignant tumors, with 1.59 million new cases worldwide in 2012. Early detection is the main factor to determine the survival of patients affected by this disease. Furthermore, the correct classification is important to define the most appropriate therapeutic approach as well as suggest the prognosis and the clinical disease evolution. Among the exams used to detect lung cancer, computed tomography have been the most indicated. However, CT images are naturally complex and even experts medical are subject to fault detection or classification. In order to assist the detection of malignant tumors, computer-aided diagnosis systems have been developed to aid reduce the amount of false positives biopsies. In this work it was developed an automatic classification system of pulmonary nodules on CT images by using Artificial Neural Networks. Morphological, texture and intensity attributes were extracted from lung nodules cut tomographic images using elliptical regions of interest that they were subsequently segmented by Otsu method. These features were selected through statistical tests that compare populations (T test of Student and U test of Mann-Whitney); from which it originated a ranking. The features after selected, were inserted in Artificial Neural Networks (backpropagation) to compose two types of classification; one to classify nodules in malignant and benign (network 1); and another to classify two types of malignancies (network 2); featuring a cascade classifier. The best networks were associated and its performance was measured by the area under the ROC curve, where the network 1 and network 2 achieved performance equal to 0.901 and 0.892 respectively.

Combining Taxonomies using Word2vec

Taxonomies have gained a broad usage in a variety of fields due to their extensibility, as well as their use for classification and knowledge organization. Of particular interest is the digital document management domain in which their hierarchical structure can be effectively employed in order to organize documents into content-specific categories. Common or standard taxonomies (e.g., the ACM Computing Classification System) contain concepts that are too general for conceptualizing specific knowledge domains. In this paper we introduce a novel automated approach that combines sub-trees from general taxonomies with specialized seed taxonomies by using specific Natural Language Processing techniques. We provide an extensible and generalizable model for combining taxonomies in the practical context of two very large European research projects. Because the manual combination of taxonomies by domain experts is a highly time consuming task, our model measures the semantic relatedness between concept labels in CBOW or skip-gram Word2vec vector spaces. A preliminary quantitative evaluation of the resulting taxonomies is performed after applying a greedy algorithm with incremental thresholds used for matching and combining topic labels.

D6.3 – Semantic Content Annotation Support

The Semantic Annotation component is a software application that provides support for automated text classification, a process grounded in a cohesion-centered representation of discourse that facilitates topic extraction. The component enables the semantic meta-annotation of text resources, including automated classification, thus facilitating information retrieval within the RAGE ecosystem. It is available in the ReaderBench framework (http://readerbench.com/) which integrates advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. The component makes use of Cohesion Network Analysis (CNA) in order to ensure an in-depth representation of discourse, useful for mining keywords and performing automated text categorization. Our component automatically classifies documents into the categories provided by the ACM Computing Classification System (http://dl.acm.org/ccs_flat.cfm), but also into the categories from a high level serious games categorization provisionally developed by RAGE. English and French languages are already covered by the provided web service, whereas the entire framework can be extended in order to support additional languages.

Bewegungsklassifikation mithilfe mobiler Sensoren

In diesem Beitrag wird eine neue Methode zur Analyse des manuellen Kommissionierprozesses vorgestellt, mit der u. a. die Kommissionierzeitanteile automatisch erfasst werden können. Diese Methode basiert auf einer sensorgestützten Bewegungsklassifikation, wie sie bspw. im Sport oder in der Medizin Anwendung findet. Dabei werden mobile Sensoren genutzt, die fortlaufend Messwerte wie z. B. die Beschleunigung oder die Drehgeschwindigkeit des Kommissionierers aufzeichnen. Auf Basis dieser Daten können Informationen über die ausgeführten Bewegungen und insbesondere über die durchlaufenen Bewegungszustände gewonnen werden. Dieser Ansatz wird im vorliegenden Beitrag auf die Kommissionierung übertragen. Dazu werden zunächst Klassen relevanter Bewegungen identifiziert und anschließend mit Verfahren aus dem maschinellen Lernen verarbeitet. Die Klassifikation erfolgt nach dem Prinzip des überwachten Lernens. Dabei werden durchschnittliche Erkennungsraten von bis zu 78,94 Prozent erzielt.

Validación de un instrumento para evaluar la carga del cuidador en parálisis cerebral

Esta investigación pretende desarrollar y validar una escala para evaluar la carga del cuidador del niño con parálisis cerebral (PC) de niveles funcionales GMFCS (Gross Motor Function Classification System) IV y V.

Are Complications Associated With the Repiphysis(®) Expandable Distal Femoral Prosthesis Acceptable for Its Continued Use?

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction of the distal femur after resection for malignant bone tumors in skeletally immature children is challenging. The use of megaprostheses has become increasingly popular in this patient group since the introduction of custom-made, expandable devices that do not require surgery for lengthening, such as the Repiphysis(®) Limb Salvage System. Early reports on the device were positive but more recently, a high complication rate and associated bone loss have been reported. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We asked: (1) what are the clinical outcomes using the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scoring system after 5-year minimum followup in patients treated with this prosthesis at one center; (2) what are the problems and complications associated with the lengthening procedures of this implant; and (3) what are the specific concerns associated with revision of this implant? METHODS: At our institute, between 2002 and 2007, the Repiphysis(®) expandable prosthesis was implanted in 15 children (mean age, 8 years; range, 6-11 years) after distal femoral resection for malignant bone tumors. During this time, the general indication for use of this implant was resection of the distal femur for localized malignant bone tumors in pediatric patients. Alternative techniques used for this indication were modular prosthetic reconstruction, massive (osteoarticular or intercalary) allograft reconstruction, or rotationplasty. Age and tumor extension were the main factors to decide on the surgical indication. Of the 15 patients who had this prosthesis implanted during reconstruction surgery, five died with the implant in situ or underwent amputation before 5 years followup and the remaining 10 were evaluated at a minimum of 5 years (mean, 104 months; range, 78-140 months). No patients were lost to followup. These 10 patients were long-term survivors and underwent the lengthening program. They were included in our study analysis. The first seven lengthening procedures were attempted in an outpatient setting; however, owing to pain and burning sensations experienced by the patients, the procedures failed to achieve the desired lengthening. Therefore, other procedures were performed with the patients under general anesthesia. We reviewed clinical data at index surgery for all 15 patients. We further analyzed the lengthening procedures, implant survival, radiographic and functional results, for the 10 long-term survivors. Functional results were assessed according to the MSTS scoring system. Complications were classified according to the International Society of Limb Salvage (ISOLS) classification system. RESULTS: Nine of the 10 survivors underwent revision of the implant for mechanical failure. They had a mean MSTS score of 64% (range, 47%-87%) before revision surgery. At final followup the 10 long-term surviving patients had an average MSTS score of 81% (range, 53%-97%). In total, we obtained an average lengthening of 39 mm per patient (range, 17-67 mm). Exact expansion of the implant was unpredictable and difficult to control. Nine of 10 of the long-term surviving patients underwent revision surgery of the prosthesis-eight for implant breakage and one for stem loosening. At revision surgery, six patients had another type of expandable prosthesis implanted and three had an adult-type megaprosthesis implanted. In five cases, segmental bone grafts were used during revision surgery to compensate for loss of bone stock. CONCLUSIONS: We could not comfortably expand the Repiphysis(®) prosthesis in an outpatient setting because of pain experienced by the patients during the lengthening procedures. Furthermore, use of the prosthesis was associated with frequent failures related to implant breakage and stem loosening. Revisions of these procedures were complex and difficult. We no longer use this prosthesis and caution others against the use of this particular prosthesis design. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic study.

Are Complications Associated With the Repiphysis(®) Expandable Distal Femoral Prosthesis Acceptable for Its Continued Use?

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction of the distal femur after resection for malignant bone tumors in skeletally immature children is challenging. The use of megaprostheses has become increasingly popular in this patient group since the introduction of custom-made, expandable devices that do not require surgery for lengthening, such as the Repiphysis(®) Limb Salvage System. Early reports on the device were positive but more recently, a high complication rate and associated bone loss have been reported. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We asked: (1) what are the clinical outcomes using the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scoring system after 5-year minimum followup in patients treated with this prosthesis at one center; (2) what are the problems and complications associated with the lengthening procedures of this implant; and (3) what are the specific concerns associated with revision of this implant? METHODS: At our institute, between 2002 and 2007, the Repiphysis(®) expandable prosthesis was implanted in 15 children (mean age, 8 years; range, 6-11 years) after distal femoral resection for malignant bone tumors. During this time, the general indication for use of this implant was resection of the distal femur for localized malignant bone tumors in pediatric patients. Alternative techniques used for this indication were modular prosthetic reconstruction, massive (osteoarticular or intercalary) allograft reconstruction, or rotationplasty. Age and tumor extension were the main factors to decide on the surgical indication. Of the 15 patients who had this prosthesis implanted during reconstruction surgery, five died with the implant in situ or underwent amputation before 5 years followup and the remaining 10 were evaluated at a minimum of 5 years (mean, 104 months; range, 78-140 months). No patients were lost to followup. These 10 patients were long-term survivors and underwent the lengthening program. They were included in our study analysis. The first seven lengthening procedures were attempted in an outpatient setting; however, owing to pain and burning sensations experienced by the patients, the procedures failed to achieve the desired lengthening. Therefore, other procedures were performed with the patients under general anesthesia. We reviewed clinical data at index surgery for all 15 patients. We further analyzed the lengthening procedures, implant survival, radiographic and functional results, for the 10 long-term survivors. Functional results were assessed according to the MSTS scoring system. Complications were classified according to the International Society of Limb Salvage (ISOLS) classification system. RESULTS: Nine of the 10 survivors underwent revision of the implant for mechanical failure. They had a mean MSTS score of 64% (range, 47%-87%) before revision surgery. At final followup the 10 long-term surviving patients had an average MSTS score of 81% (range, 53%-97%). In total, we obtained an average lengthening of 39 mm per patient (range, 17-67 mm). Exact expansion of the implant was unpredictable and difficult to control. Nine of 10 of the long-term surviving patients underwent revision surgery of the prosthesis-eight for implant breakage and one for stem loosening. At revision surgery, six patients had another type of expandable prosthesis implanted and three had an adult-type megaprosthesis implanted. In five cases, segmental bone grafts were used during revision surgery to compensate for loss of bone stock. CONCLUSIONS: We could not comfortably expand the Repiphysis(®) prosthesis in an outpatient setting because of pain experienced by the patients during the lengthening procedures. Furthermore, use of the prosthesis was associated with frequent failures related to implant breakage and stem loosening. Revisions of these procedures were complex and difficult. We no longer use this prosthesis and caution others against the use of this particular prosthesis design. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic study.