La construcción de la política exterior de Rusia hacia Serbia: entre el pragmatismo y el Eurasianismo (2007-2015)

Esta monografía defenderá que la Rusia contemporánea cuenta con una ideología formada a partir de los elementos imperiales y religiosos previos a la Unión Soviética además de elementos políticos propios de la URSS como la colectividad y la oposición a occidente. La Rusia de Putin ha recobrado sus capacidades para defender sus intereses en el mundo frente a la injerencia de occidente, y en el caso de Serbia esto se hará evidente a través de la importancia de los lazos culturales e históricos reforzados por los vínculos económicos y estratégicos que representa la presencia de Rusia en Serbia. Los principales autores sobre los que se trabajará son Alexander Dugin y Alexander Panarin.

La Reforma Catòlica a la muntanya catalana a través de les visites pastorals: els bisbats de Girona i Vic (1587-1800)

La present tesi vol explicar la implantació de la Reforma Catòlica en una sèrie de parròquies rurals dels bisbats de Girona (valls de Ridaura, Bas, Hostoles i Amer) i Vic (El Collsacabra i les valls de Susqueda i Sau), entre 1587 i 1800, des dels bisbes posttrentins Jaume Caçador i Pedro Jaime als il·lustrats Tomàs de Lorenzana i Francisco de Veyan. La documentació principal són les sèries de les visites pastorals conservades a l'Arxiu Diocesà de Girona i l'Arxiu Episcopal de Vic; paral·lelament, s'ha reforçat amb documentació parroquial (llibres sagramentals, consuetes, llibres d'obra i confraries), protocols notarials (notaries de Rupit, Sant Feliu de Pallerols, El Mallol i Amer) i impresos episcopals. Els manaments de les visites pastorals s'han contrastat, amb semblances i diferències, amb els decrets del concili de Trento, de les constitucions provincials tarraconenses i les sinodals gironines i vigatanes, i amb les evidències artístiques, arquitectòniques i arqueològiques. Tots ells han servit per demostrar la lentitud en la implantació del programa tridentí, que s'assoleix, de fet, amb força retard (ben entrat el segle XVIII).

A predictive model for early-warning of Septoria leaf blotch on winter wheat

Disease-weather relationships influencing Septoria leaf blotch (SLB) preceding growth stage (GS) 31 were identified using data from 12 sites in the UK covering 8 years. Based on these relationships, an early-warning predictive model for SLB on winter wheat was formulated to predict the occurrence of a damaging epidemic (defined as disease severity of 5% or > 5% on the top three leaf layers). The final model was based on accumulated rain > 3 mm in the 80-day period preceding GS 31 (roughly from early-February to the end of April) and accumulated minimum temperature with a 0A degrees C base in the 50-day period starting from 120 days preceding GS 31 (approximately January and February). The model was validated on an independent data set on which the prediction accuracy was influenced by cultivar resistance. Over all observations, the model had a true positive proportion of 0.61, a true negative proportion of 0.73, a sensitivity of 0.83, and a specificity of 0.18. True negative proportion increased to 0.85 for resistant cultivars and decreased to 0.50 for susceptible cultivars. Potential fungicide savings are most likely to be made with resistant cultivars, but such benefits would need to be identified with an in-depth evaluation.

A simple two-stage design for quantitative responses with application to a study in diabetic neuropathic pain

Two-stage designs offer substantial advantages for early phase II studies. The interim analysis following the first stage allows the study to he stopped for futility, or more positively, it might lead to early progression to the trials needed for late phase H and phase III. If the study is to continue to its second stage, then there is an opportunity for a revision of the total sample size. Two-stage designs have been implemented widely in oncology studies in which there is a single treatment arm and patient responses are binary. In this paper the case of two-arm comparative studies in which responses are quantitative is considered. This setting is common in therapeutic areas other than oncology. It will be assumed that observations are normally distributed, but that there is some doubt concerning their standard deviation, motivating the need for sample size review. The work reported has been motivated by a study in diabetic neuropathic pain, and the development of the design for that trial is described in detail. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Neural network feature maps for Chinese phonemes

It has been shown through a number of experiments that neural networks can be used for a phonetic typewriter. Algorithms can be looked on as producing self-organizing feature maps which correspond to phonemes. In the Chinese language the utterance of a Chinese character consists of a very simple string of Chinese phonemes. With this as a starting point, a neural network feature map for Chinese phonemes can be built up. In this paper, feature map structures for Chinese phonemes are discussed and tested. This research on a Chinese phonetic feature map is important both for Chinese speech recognition and for building a Chinese phonetic typewriter.

Quantifying uncertainty in remotely sensed land cover maps

Remotely sensed land cover maps are increasingly used as inputs into environmental simulation models whose outputs inform decisions and policy-making. Risks associated with these decisions are dependent on model output uncertainty, which is in turn affected by the uncertainty of land cover inputs. This article presents a method of quantifying the uncertainty that results from potential mis-classification in remotely sensed land cover maps. In addition to quantifying uncertainty in the classification of individual pixels in the map, we also address the important case where land cover maps have been upscaled to a coarser grid to suit the users’ needs and are reported as proportions of land cover type. The approach is Bayesian and incorporates several layers of modelling but is straightforward to implement. First, we incorporate data in the confusion matrix derived from an independent field survey, and discuss the appropriate way to model such data. Second, we account for spatial correlation in the true land cover map, using the remotely sensed map as a prior. Third, spatial correlation in the mis-classification characteristics is induced by modelling their variance. The result is that we are able to simulate posterior means and variances for individual sites and the entire map using a simple Monte Carlo algorithm. The method is applied to the Land Cover Map 2000 for the region of England and Wales, a map used as an input into a current dynamic carbon flux model.

Monotone positive solutions for a fourth order equation with nonlinear boundary conditions

This work is concerned with the existence of monotone positive solutions for a class of beam equations with nonlinear boundary conditions. The results are obtained by using the monotone iteration method and they extend early works on beams with null boundary conditions. Numerical simulations are also presented. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Henon-like maps with arbitrary stationary combinatorics

We extend the renormalization operator introduced in [A. de Carvalho, M. Martens and M. Lyubich. Renormalization in the Henon family, I: universality but non-rigidity. J. Stat. Phys. 121(5/6) (2005), 611-669] from period-doubling Henon-like maps to Henon-like maps with arbitrary stationary combinatorics. We show that the renonnalization picture also holds in this case if the maps are taken to be strongly dissipative. We study infinitely renormalizable maps F and show that they have an invariant Cantor set O on which F acts like a p-adic adding machine for some p > 1. We then show, as for the period-doubling case in the work of de Carvalho, Martens and Lyubich [Renormalization in the Henon family, I: universality but non-rigidity. J. Stat. Phys. 121(5/6) (2005), 611-669], that the sequence of renormalizations has a universal form, but that the invariant Cantor set O is non-rigid. We also show that O cannot possess a continuous invariant line field.

Separation and Execution of graphical engine on a cross platform IDE to enhance performance

“Biosim” is a simulation software which works to simulate the harvesting system.This system is able to design a model for any logistic problem with the combination of several objects so that the artificial system can show the performance of an individual model. The system will also describe the efficiency, possibility to be chosen for real life application of that particular model. So, when any one wish to setup a logistic model like- harvesting system, in real life he/she may be noticed about the suitable prostitution for his plants and factories as well as he/she may get information about the least number of objects, total time to complete the task, total investment required for his model, total amount of noise produced for his establishment in advance. It will produce an advance over view for his model. But “Biosim” is quite slow .As it is an object based system, it takes long time to make its decision. Here the main task is to modify the system so that it can work faster than the previous. So, the main objective of this thesis is to reduce the load of “Biosim” by making some modification of the original system as well as to increase its efficiency. So that the whole system will be faster than the previous one and performs more efficiently when it will be applied in real life. Theconcept is to separate the execution part of ”Biosim” form its graphical engine and run this separated portion in a third generation language platform. C++ is chosenhere as this external platform. After completing the proposed system, results with different models have been observed. The results show that, for any type of plants of fields, for any number of trucks, the proposed system is faster than the original system. The proposed system takes at least 15% less time “Biosim”. The efficiency increase with the complexity of than the original the model. More complex the model, more efficient the proposed system is than original “Biosim”.Depending on the complexity of a model, the proposed system can be 56.53 % faster than the original “Biosim”.

La thématique de l’eau dans l’œuvre de Marguerite Duras

The aim of this thematic study is to examine how the water motif is used in Marguerite Duras’s literary work. The study shows that water has multiple functions in these texts: it is linked to major themes and creates an enigmatic atmosphere by its association with the unknown, the inexplicable and the unconscious. The strong presence of water in Duras’s texts is striking. References to the water element can be found in several titles throughout her career, from early works such as Un barrage contre le Pacifique (1950) to La mer écrite (1996), published just after her death. Almost all of her fiction take place near water – and the rain or the sound of waves serve as leitmotifs in specific novels. The water motif can play a metonymic as well as a metaphoric role in the texts and it sometimes takes on human or animalistic characteristics (Chapter 4). Several emblematic Durassian characters (e.g. the beggar-woman, Anne-Marie Stretter and Lol V. Stein) have a close relationship to water (Chapter 5). The water motif is linked to many major Durassian themes, and illustrates themes with positive connotations, for example, creation, fecundity, maternity, liberty and desire, as well as themes with negative connotations such as destruction and death (Chapter 6). A close reading of three novels, La vie tranquille (1944), L’après-midi de Monsieur Andesmas (1962) and La maladie de la mort (1982), shows that the realism of the first novel is replaced by intriguing evocations of the sea and the pond in the second text, motifs which resist straightforward interpretation. The enigmatic feeling persists in the last novel, in which the sea illustrates the overall sombre mood of the story (Chapter 7). Finally, the role of the water element in psychoanalytic theory is discussed (Chapter 8), and a parallel is drawn between the Jungian concept of the mother archetype and the water motif in Duras’s texts. The suggestion is made in this last chapter that water is used to illustrate an oriental influence (Taoist or Buddhist) of some of the female characters in Duras’s work.

Strategies which aim to positively impact on weight, physical activity, diet and sedentary behaviours in children from zero to five years. A systematic review of the literature

Preventing the development of obesity in children is an international health priority. To assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent obesity, promote healthy eating and/or physical activity and/or to reduce sedentary behaviours in 0–5-year-old children, a systematic review of the literature was performed. Literature searches were limited to articles published between January 1995 and June 2006, printed in English and sampling children aged 0–5-years. Searches excluded literature concerned with breastfeeding, eating disorders, and interventions which were school-based or concerned with obesity treatment. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study strengths and weaknesses. Nine included studies were grouped based on the settings in which they were delivered. Most studies involved multi-approach interventions, were conducted in the USA and varied in study designs and quality. All showed some level of effectiveness on at least one obesity-behaviour in young children. These studies support, at a range of levels, the premise that parents are receptive to and capable of some behavioural changes that may promote healthy weight in their young children. The small quantity of research heralds the need, particularly given the potential for early intervention to have long-lasting impacts on individual and population health, to build in a substantial way upon this evidence base.

Isogramma Meek and Worthen, 1870 (Dictyonellida, Brachiopoda) from the upper Palaeozoic of East Asia: implications for biogeography and evolutionary trends

Isogramma manchoukuoensis from the Upper Carboniferous of northeast China is redefined based on re-examination of the type specimens. Isogramma specimens from the Middle Permian of northeastern Japan are reassigned to I. aff. paotechowensis. A new family, Schizopleuroniidae, is proposed to include Schizopleuronia, but excludes Megapleuronia, which belongs to the Megapleuroniidae Liao, 1983. The family Isogrammidae is considered to be a transitional group in the eichwaldid-isogrammid-schizopleuronid evolutionary lineage within the Dictyonellida. A review of the global distribution of Isogramma species reveals that the genus has a total of 56 species ranging from the Mississippian (Early Carboniferous) to the Lopingian (Late Permian). Isogramma diversified rapidly after its origination in the middle Viséan and its species diversity remained high throughout the Mississippian. The genus possibly suffered a severe mid-Carboniferous boundary mass extinction, with no Early Carboniferous species surviving this event. Bashkirian Isogramma species show low diversity, followed by a global recovery in the Moscovian. During the latest Carboniferous Isogramma became highly diversified again. At the Carboniferous–Permian (C/P) transition Isogramma underwent another dramatic diversity drop, followed by several stepwise declines in diversity during the Early–Middle Permian. The Wuchiapingian I. sinosa is the last Isogramma species.

Ukraine was the possible centre of origin for Isogramma. From Ukraine Isogramma spread over the Moscow Basin of Russia, Central Europe (Germany, Austria), South Europe (Spain) and West Europe (England, Ireland and Scotland), and migrated to the North American midcontinent and South China during the late Viséan (Early Carboniferous). In Europe, Isogramma migrated to Spain and eastern Europe (Serbia) in the Moscovian, from there it then dispersed into Central Asia (Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) in the Kasimovian-Gzhelian. In the Palaeo-Tethys Isogramma migrated from South China to northeast and northwest China in the Moscovian, spread over the North China Block during the C/P transition, moved to Russian Siberia, Japan and the Qiangtang terrane of the Palaeo-Tethys during the Early–Late Permian. In North America Isogramma spread over the midcontinent during the Late Carboniferous and Early–Middle Permian and migrated to South America (Bolivia) in latest Carboniferous. Biogeographically, Isogramma was confined principally to the palaeo-tropical and warm to temperate zones throughout the Late Palaeozoic, with the possible exception of the Artinskian, as a questionable species of the genus also occurs in the Transbaikal region of southeast Russia.

Online interaction impacts on learning: teaching the teachers to teach online

This paper explores the importance of interaction in the online teaching environment and the important role of staff development in developing teacher presence online. Professionally developing staff to use information and communication technologies is viewed from the standpoint of diffusion of innovation, moving from early adopters to mainstream majority, and targeting staff development at this latter group. Approaches to staff development using information and communication technologies are described, and recommendations for staff development for online teaching are made.

Poetry as a starting point for drama: learning to tolerate ambiguity

This article explores the use of process drama in an English classroom to explore issues raised by 'A poem for the Rainforest' by Judith Nicholls. The drama is used to explore both the themes and forms of the poem, the episodic nature of the drama reflecting the episodic form of the poem. The work engages the students, and the process drama works to layer complexity onto the issues rather than simplifying them.

Implementation of evidence into practice : Development of a tool to improve emergency nursing care of acute stroke

Background
Stroke is an increasing global health issue that places considerable burden on society and health care services. An important part of acute stroke management and decreasing stroke-related mortality is preventing complications within the first 24–48 hours. The current climate of prolonged time spent in the Emergency Department (ED) means that many aspects of stroke management are now the responsibility of emergency nurses.

Aims
The aims of this paper are to: i) examine the evidence related to nursing care of acute stroke, ii) identify evidence-based elements of stroke care with most applicability to emergency nursing and iii) use evidence-based stroke care recommendations to develop a guideline for the emergency nursing management of acute stroke.

Results
Emergency nursing care of acute stroke should focus on optimal triage decisions, physiological surveillance, fluid management, risk management, and early referral to specialists.

Conclusions
The role of emergency nurses in stroke care will increase and it is important that emergency nurses deliver evidence-based stroke care in order to optimise patient outcomes. Guidelines and decision support tools for use in emergency nursing must be practical and have high levels of clinical utility for maximum uptake in a busy clinical environment.