First Step Research Articles

Colombia y la educación del siglo xxi ¿una escuela postmoderna?

El presente artículo constituye una reflexión teórica sobre la necesidad de re-pensar la escuela como institución social en virtud del lugar que podría ocupar en ella el maestro Colombiano. Para ello, se proponen cuatro momentos que entretejen, a nuestra manera de ver, el contexto y las razones del problema. La inestabilidad de la relación modernidad-postmodernidad desde Gianni Vattimo constituye el primer estadio como contexto socioculural de la escuela en el siglo XXI. En segundo lugar, recordamos la ruptura entre universidad y sociedad denunciada por Durkheim en el contexto Francés, y relacionada aquí a manera de analogía. En el tercer momento, planteamos la relación problemática entre saber y poder desde Lyotard y, finalmente, intentamos perfilar las responsabilidades del maestro colombiano a la luz de las tres dificultades (sub-temas del texto) anteriores

Terrorism’s Evolution: Yesterday, Today, and Forever

In confronting the challenge of international terrorism, the fi rst step is to call things by their proper names, to see clearly and say plainly who the terrorists are, what goals they seek, and which governments support them. What the terrorist does is kill, maim, kidnap, and torture. His or her victims may be children in the schoolroom, innocent travelers on airplanes, businessmen returning home from work, political leaders. . . . The terrorist’s victims may have no particular political identity, or they may be political symbols, like Aldo Moro or, perhaps, Pope John Paul II. They may be kidnapped and held for ransom, maimed, or simply blown to bits. One defi ning characteristic of the terrorist is his choice of method; the terrorist chooses violence as the instrument of fi rst resort. William Joseph Casey, US Director of Central Intelligence

Os verbos de julgamento em inglês e português: o que a análise contrastiva pode dizer sobre a Semântica de Frames

This paper discusses the boundaries of Frame Semantics for multilingual lexicon development. This is a contrastive study of verbs of judgment in English and Brazilian Portuguese using the parallel corpus COMPARA. The contrastive analysis of four lexical units, to accuse, to blame, to criticize and to praise places emphasis on points to be developed in order to create multilingual frame-based databases that are able to describe lexical meaning more broadly. The discussion of translation equivalents is important not only for translation studies, but also for multilingual lexicon development. Finding a proper translation equivalent is the fi rst step in the development of multilingual resources. This paper explores the complex meaning networks existing between languages when they are compared. Key words: Frame Semantics, verbs of judgment, contrastive linguistics.

Meios de cultura, reguladores de crescimento e fontes de nitrogênio na regulação da calogênese do pau-brasil (Caesalpinia echinata Lam.)

A regulação da calogênese é o primeiro passo para a embriogênese somática indireta in vitro. Nesse sentido, foram investigados os efeitos de diferentes meios de cultura, reguladores de crescimento e fontes nitrogenadas no desenvolvimento de calos em tecidos foliares de Caesalpinia echinata (pau-brasil). Explantes foliares foram cultivados em meios de cultura MS, B5, White e WPM. Testou-se, também, o efeito dos compostos nitrogenados (NH4NO3, KNO3 e glutamina) e a interação entre auxinas (2,4-D, AIA e AIB) e citocininas (BAP e KIN) na desdiferenciação celular indicado pela formação de calos. Os meios MS, B5 e White não foram significantemente diferentes e proporcionaram melhores resultados. Em meio MS contendo as fontes nitrogenadas 2,4 g L-1 NH4NO3 e 1,35 g L-1 glutamina + 4,11 g L-1 de KNO3 na presença de 1,0 mg L-1 2,4-D e 5,0 mg L-1 BAP ocorreu maior proliferação celular indicada pela massa fresca dos calos. As combinações dos reguladores 0,5 mg L-1 2,4-D + 5 mg L-1 BAP e 0,5 mg L-1 AIB + 5,0 mg L-1 BAP suplementado com 2,4 g L-1 NH4NO3 em meio MS estimularam o crescimento dos calos. De maneira geral, os calos apresentaram aspectos friáveis, não embriogênicos, com acúmulo de fenóis e presença de áreas meristemáticas (meristemóides).

Pathology workflow and the integration of image analysis

In today’s pathology lab, understanding and optimizing the workfl ow becomes more and more important. Th e integration of image analysis into the workfl ow requires special considerations for generating correct results. Currently, image analysis in pathology is used primarily for the quantifi cation of IHC slides like Her2. Pathology laboratories can choose from a number of image analysis systems which scan complete slides at different magnifi cations and generate virtual slides for review by pathologists. Pathologists can mark regions of interest on virtual slides for quantifi cation. Specifi c algorithms can then be applied to each region, generating results/scores that are calculated for these regions. Th e resulting data is then, together with pre-selected images, compiled into a customizable report. Th ere are four key components for image analysis: • Staining quality • Image quality • Algorithm • Region selection Staining quality can be improved through the use of automated staining with defi ned staining protocols. Additionally, linking specifi c pre-treatment, antibody, and staining protocols to an image algorithm is key for consistent results. Having consistent staining is necessary for successful image analysis because diff erences in staining lead to diff erences in acquired digital images thereby aff ecting image analysis. Image quality can be achieved through automation and calibration. Algorithms need to be specifi c to the antibody used to generate the appropriate results. Region selection relies on the pathologist’s expertise. Th us, image analysis is used as an aid to the pathologist. A key component to image analysis is the integration of the image analysis system into the overall lab workfl ow. For example, Dako Link is used to connect diff erent instruments in the IHC laboratory and to capture data from diff erent steps in the slide preparation process, which are stored and can be retrieved. In this workfl ow, the fi rst step is accessioning, where case information is captured together with the requested staining protocol. Th e automated staining instrument uses this information (including the antibody and the staining protocol) to stain the slide. Th e actual information for a specifi c slide is then stored. Once the slides are stained and ready, they are loaded onto the ACIS® III, which accesses the Dako Link database and retrieves information about the slide. Th e information is then used to select the appropriate algorithm, which will be used to process regions on the slide. By linking automated staining systems with image analysis systems, the user is not required to re-enter information and therefore the opportunity for errors is lowered, while at the same time it is guaranteed that the correct algorithm is used for the slide. Th is concept could be used to connect other image analysis systems to laboratory workfl ow, improving overall workfl ow and reducing the number of opportunities for transcription and other errors. In the future, digital pathology will include digitization of the complete workfl ow. Information will be generated in the lab, including staining information and digitization of the slide and the process will be completed by image analysis.

Mandatory laboratory quality assurance in connection with image acquisition and analysis – the potential of virtual microscopy

Quality management is a growing issue in pathology which in turn also acts as a quality control tool in medicine. Th is again requires a good quality control system within the quality management in pathology laboratories. To achieve this a thorough analysis of the main pillars of defi ned quality and so called products of pathology labs is the fi rst step. Further analysis has to be made on potential errors and their sources. Upon this a quality management system can be constructed to minimize the frequency and severity of occurring errors. In our analysis we describe the potential errors within the workfl ow of a pathology laboratory and the use of virtual microscopy in a digital pathology lab which incorporates the analysis of virtual slides into a quality management and control system with automated recovery of errors and their correction. Author details

The Sixth Republic under Roh Tae Woo: The Genesis of South Korean Democracy

The inauguration of Roh Tae Woo as president of the Sixth Republic of Korea in February 1988 can be considered as a turning point in South Korean political history. The five years of the Roh Tae Woo administration, 1988–1993, contained many of the fi rst steps, albeit sometimes transitionally imperfect, toward democracy and an ultimate return to civilian rule of law, as well as greater political freedoms. According to Samuel P. Huntington, the Korean form of democratization was an example of transplacement, in which the government made concessions and opposition political groups accepted it to avoid mutual catastrophe. Furthermore, a case can be made for the mode of democratic transition in South Korea also being like Donald Share’s transition through transaction, Terry Lynn Karl and Philippe C. Schmitter’s transition by pact, and Adam Przeworki’s democracy with guarantees.

Homology Modelling of Lycopene Cleavage Oxygenase: The Key Enzyme of Bixin Production

Bixin is a natural dye and a high commercial important compound, produced from Bixin synthetic pathway in case of Bixa orellana plant. The particular enzyme Lycopene cleavage Oxygenase catalyzes the fi rst step of reaction pathways from Trans-lycopene to Bixin synthesis. The 3D structure of the enzyme was predicted by MODELLER program and the missing side chains were verifi ed by SCRWL4 tool. Model validation was done by using the output of PROCHECK and DOPE score. The Ramachandran plot for the model was observed as 87.3 percentages of residues is in favourable regions that indicate the model is reliable. Molecular dynamics simulation of the model protein was performed in water 5 lakh times for 1000 Pico second and at 300K by GROMACS software in a high performance computing environment. The energy value and RMSD (Root men square deviation) fl uctuation of Carbon alpha back bone of the model was computed that confi rms the stability of the model protein.

Sampling effort and factors influencing the precision of estimates of tree species abundance in a tropical forest stand

Stand inventories are indispensable in community and population studies, diversity and conservation assessments, and pattern search, representing the fi rst step towards understanding distribution and abundance variation of species in space. As species abundance descriptors are estimated through sampling, the precision of the estimates is important to assess data scope. In a 6.5-ha area of a semideciduous Atlantic forest, SE Brazil, we randomly located 100 plots of 10 10 m to sample trees with DBH 5 cm. We calculated the sampling error of estimates of density, frequency, dominance, and importance value index (IVI) for species with fi ve or more adult individuals, and determined the number of plots necessary not to exceed sampling errors of 20 %. Esenbeckia leiocarpa (Rutaceae), the most abundant species, was the only species for which sampling errors did not exceed 20 %. The most appropriate criterion for evaluation of the sampling suffi ciency for the inventory of the stand as a whole was the one based on the general sampling error of a set of the most abundant species. The estimates of density, frequency and IVI were infl uenced by the aggregation of individuals. The estimate of dominance had a greater infl uence of the basal area variation among individuals. Frequency had the greatest precision, dominance had the smallest, and density and IVI had intermediate precision.

Practice Concepts Expansion to Practice Concepts and Policy Analysis

In keeping with The Gerontologist ’ s mission to offer a multidisciplinary understanding of human aging, including the impact of social policy, we are expanding the Practice Concepts section to include papers that specifi cally analyze public policy as it affects aging populations and aging processes. We believe that a more explicit focus on social policy analysis will fi ll a need for increased awareness and understanding of the role of older adults in the policy-making process, as well as the impact of public policy on the well-being of older populations at federal, state, and local levels. To that end, we invite scholars to submit manuscripts that analyze relevant policy to the Practice Concepts and Policy Analysis editor. The manuscripts must adhere to the current word limit of 4,000 words for a Practice Concepts piece. The chief purpose of a policy analysis is to explain and share the insights obtained in the examination of a policy problem. There are four major components of a Policy Analysis paper. The fi rst step in a policy analysis is to defi ne and describe a specifi c policy issue that affects older adults. Raising an interesting policy question that can be answered through data analyses, as does Binstock in “ Older voters and the 2008 Election ” ( Binstock, 2009 , pp. xx – xx), is another way to defi ne and delineate a specifi c policy issue. In this section of the manuscript, suffi cient background information should be presented so that readers understand the context in which the policy issue or question is situated. Such context can include the key historical aspects of the issue, as well as the various policies and policy networks (political fi gures or organizations, interest groups, think tanks) that exist to address the issue ( Patton & Sawicki, 1986 ). A brief discussion of the major stakeholders in the issue being featured is also appropriate. The second step in the policy analysis paper is to provide the readers with specifi c information about why this particular issue and an analysis of it are important to the fi eld of aging. Here, the author should offer a conceptual framework that will be used to guide the policy analysis. This section should contain a review of the relevant literature that will tie together key concerns raised with historical background on the topic, showing the reader some of the reasons why the issue has been diffi cult to resolve or is in need of additional policy-making efforts or change. What are the “ facts ” surrounding this issue and to what extent do the various stakeholders agree on these facts and the policies they have spawned to date? Next is the heart of the paper, an analysis of the issue. In this section, we will look for an in-depth description of the sample and data used (if a secondary data analysis), the methods of data collection and analysis carried out (if new data were collected), and the specifi c fi ndings of the analysis. We understand that in some instances, the “ data ” to be used

What the new EU REACH regulation means for your business

The REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation entered into force throughout the European Union on 1 June 2007, with phased implementation from 2007 until 2018. This regulation is already having an effect on all chemicals, (including such diverse materials as alloys, paints and powders) used across the Aviation Industry in the EU, including those that are bought outside the EU throughout the global supply chain. The fi rst step of the regulation – pre-registration – has now closed, but some companies were unaware of their obligations, and now are fi nding themselves to be non-compliant with the law – and others are fi nding that their suppliers did not fulfi l their obligations, and have a risk of supply continuity. As a consequence of REACH, some essential chemicals may become restricted and even removed from the market. The fi rst of these are some phthalates that are in many plastics and adhesives, as well as chemicals of direct interest to the surface treatment industry such as sodium dichromate and cobalt dichloride, and a few fl ame retardants. Are you affected by the fi rst of these substances to be earmarked to be phased out? The implications of REACH for platers and coaters has been summarised recently by Oliver1. The regulation will also affect certain hazardous chemicals (including alloying constituents) within products. Customers and the EU REACH Agency will need to be informed of the presence of some substances within each product and spare part. This information will have to be supplied for products made outside the EU, and imported, as well as the products made within the EU. This requirement is already here. There are 15 substances which may be in electrical equipment, non metallic parts or in surface coatings that you may have in your products and that you may be required to declare to customers. You need to know if these chemicals are in your products. The Midlands Aerospace Alliance together with major aerospace product manufacturers recognises the impact that this regulation will have on all companies, both large and small and held a workshop on the 3rd March 2009 to help companies to work through the legislation. Speakers included representatives from Airbus, Goodrich, GE, Lockheed, Meggitt and Rolls-Royce and represented the shared knowledge of these organisations.

FIRST STEPS FIRST

FIRST STEPS FIRST

Mapping of palm trees in urban and agriculture areas of Kuwait using satellite data

ABSTRACTQuickbird panfused data with 60 cm resolution is used to map the locations of date palm trees in the arid land of Kuwait. In this study, Laplacian maxima fi ltering was applied to classify date palm trees using high-resolution satellite imagery. The processing was done in two steps: the fi rst step involved smoothing of the data using non-linear diffusion and the second was extracting local spatial maxima of Laplacian blob used for palm tree identifi cation. The results are promising and the classifi cation accuracy in the two test areas is 96% and 98%, which is higher than maximum likelihood classifi cation for the same dataset. The results show that this meth-odology can be adopted for the mapping of palm trees in arid Middle Eastern countries. Keywords: arid land, blob, image classifi cation, laplacian fi ltering, quickbird.1 INTRODUCTIONPalm trees are very common in Middle Eastern countries. They are of signifi cant environmental and commercial importance [1]. In recent decades, the Middle Eastern region has witnessed an extensive planting of Date Palm trees, both in urban and agricultural areas. Millions of trees are estimated to have been planted in these arid deserts [2, 3]. Extensive plantation in urban areas rarely gives a clue that these are arid and hyper arid countries. Among these species, most common are date palm trees, which are seen planted along the roads, in front of houses, in parks, and organized plantation in agricultural areas. However, there is limited knowledge of actual tree counts and their exact spatial locations, which is a requirement for any agricultural census.Remote sensing data have been used for the identifi cation of urban treed areas, but with limited classifi cation accuracies. These lower classifi cation accuracies are attributed to a variety of spectral and textural properties [4]. Medium resolution satellites including LANDSAT, SPOT, and ASTER have been used in urban treed classifi cation, but their spatial resolution permits only larger patches of treed areas to be classifi ed [4–6]. With the advancement in satellite technology and availability of high spatial resolution images, it is now feasible to achieve higher classifi cation accuracies in urban and agricultural areas. The present study is an attempt to map the date palm trees in urban and agri-cultural areas of Kuwait. An accuracy assessment is also made to compare results from maximum likelihood and the Laplacian blob classifi cations of date palm trees within the test areas.Similar studies for classifying and quantifying olive trees were taken up by European Union Countries. The European Economic Committee realized the need to quantify the olive plantation in 1997 and launched the OLISTAT project in September 1997 to estimate the number of olive trees in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece [7]. The counting of trees is a classic example of remote sensing applications in forestry. However, crown counting of trees is not an easy or straightforward task as there are limitations of satellite data resolution as well as problems related to the subjective nature of interpretation. Howard [8] indicated that the capacity to distinguish different objects is governed by the size of the object relative to pixel.The multispectral classifi cation methods have provided reasonably good results, but there is still room for further improvement in classifi cation accuracy if textural parameters are taken into account. It was believed that with the availability of higher resolution satellite data, classifi cation accuracies

Management Transitions: Handing Over the Reins

hen a family farm or ranch is handed down to successive generations there are a multitude of potential economic and rela-tionship issues that can derail the best-laid plans, but foresight and planning will greatly improve the odds of a successful management transfer. Most successful cases we have observed during the past 30 years were due to early and deliberate planning. Good transitions between managers leave little to chance (Table 1).Some ranch families may think the title Chief Executive Offi cer (CEO) sounds too corporate for ranching and does not apply to them. On many ranches it may be “Dad” or “Grandpa,” or it could be “Grandma.” If the ranch is managed by outside talent, it may be “the general manager.” Whatever the title, there is one decision maker who carries more weight than all others and for the purpose of this discussion, that person will be the CEO. For a family ranch to make it from one generation to the next, with every CEO there must be a successor. Here again someone may say that life on our ranch is not so simple. However, one of the keys to successfully passing on the ranch to the next generation is planning for the future. Thinking in terms of “CEO” and “successor” is the fi rst step in that direction.The focus of this article will be on four problematic aspects of the transition process: 1) a reasoned approach to identifying the right successor, 2) open and honest commu-nications on the ranch, 3) development of the successor, and 4) the exit of the current CEO.

A FLIGHT EXPERIMENT OF ELECTRODYNAMIC TETHER USING A SMALL SATELLITE : AS THE FIRST STEP FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL

A FLIGHT EXPERIMENT OF ELECTRODYNAMIC TETHER USING A SMALL SATELLITE : AS THE FIRST STEP FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL

Decontamination strategies for MRSA-colonized patients

Introduction: The fi rst step in the pathogenesis of most skin and soft tissue infections is the colonization of the host by a potential pathogen or pathogens. Staphylococcus aureus has long been an important pathogen, but the dissemination of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) over the past decade, superimposed on the gradually increasing carriage rates of hospital-associated MRSA, have made beta-lactam–resistant S. aureus isolates the dominant etiology of skin and soft tissue infections in many locations across the United States [ 1 ]. The costs of established MRSA infection with regard to prolonged hospital stay, increased mortality, and increased expense have been widely reported [ 2 ], and it is only natural that growing attention has been focused on preventing MRSA infection. Although the anterior nares are the most commonly reported site of MRSA carriage, MRSA may persist in additional sites (eg, skin, chronic wounds, and perianal/rectal carriage) in some individuals or may reside exclusively in sites other than the nares in others. The dynamic aspects of S. aureus carriage are complex: most individuals are transiently colonized for varying intervals, some are persistently colonized at one or more sites when studied longitudinally and a modest fraction of individuals remain persistently culture negative for S. aureus colonization. Several interventional studies have explored the eradication of MRSA carriage. Eradication strategies have tended to use topical agents directed at nares and/or skin decontamination or systemic antibiotics. In general, these studies have been limited by enrollment size, duration of monitoring, and inherent study limitations regarding the distinction in culture-positive patients between decontamination failures and effective eradication followed by acquisition of a distinct MRSA strain.

Commentary] GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH ON DRUGGED DRIVING: A GOOD FIRST STEP

Commentary] GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH ON DRUGGED DRIVING: A GOOD FIRST STEP

Professional Resilience in Baccalaureate-Prepared Acute Care Nurses: FIRST STEPS

New nurses typically begin their practice in acute care settings in hospitals, where their work is characterized by time constraints, high safety risks for patients, and layers of complexity and difficult problems. Retention of experienced nurses is an issue central to patient safety. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the nature of professional resilience in new baccalaureate-prepared nurses in acute care settings and to extrapolate pedagogical strategies that can be developed to support resilience and career longevity. Findings revealed a common process of evolving resilience among participants. New nurses spend a significant amount of time learning their place in the social structure. With positive experiences, they begin to feel more competent with skills and relationships and become increasingly aware of discrepancies between their ideas of professional nursing and their actual experiences in the work setting. The risk of new nurses leaving their practice is constantly present during these struggles. Acceptable compromises yield a reconciliation of the current crisis, typically occurring long after formal precepting has ended. Personal growth is evident by the evolving clarity of professional identity, an edifying sense of purpose, and energy resources to move forward. For new nurses, professional resilience yields the capacity for self-protection, risk taking, and moving forward with reflective knowledge of self.

Herodotus and Sima Qian: History and the Anthropological Turn in Ancient Greece and Han China

This article presents a comparative investigation of Herodotus and Sima Qian with a focus on their ethnographies of nomadic peoples. Both historians included geography and ethnography in their works because their societies had reached a stage when it was no longer possible to write their histories without taking the measure of their wider environment. The author posits that frontiers are not just locations of “othering” but also zones of creative interaction and regions in which it is possible to take the fi rst steps toward an appraisal of the rationality of foreign cultures. Herodotus and Sima Qian combined an incipient cultural relativism with notions of common humanity, resulting in an anthropological turn, the representation of the cultures of “others” as autonomous systems that must be judged on their own terms. Their anthropological turn is connected to their conceptions of empire and the temporalities underpinning their histories.

Autonomia financeira da escola

Neste artigo que se insere no contexto das análises acerca do financiamento da educação no Brasil, propõe-se a discutir limites e possibilidades do conceito de autonomia financeira da escola a partir do entendimento das condições administrativas, legais, financeiras e pedagógicas existentes nas escolas públicas da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de São Paulo, da Prefeitura Municipal de São Paulo (Smesp-PMSP). A transformação da escola pública municipal paulistana de unidade administrativa em unidade de despesa constitui o primeiro passo rumo à consolidação do artigo15 da Lei 9.394, de 20 de dezembro de 1996, que estabelece o princípio da autonomia administrativa, pedagógica e financeira das escolas. A análise procurará estabelecer uma vinculação entre a possibilidade de autonomia financeira da escola e sua articulação com o financiamento da educação e com a problemática da política educacional brasileira.