Limited Geographical Area Research Articles

Microfinance and Inequality: Case of Indonesia

This study investigates the role of microfinance from small-sized banks, usually with a limited geographical area of operation, in Indonesia, namely Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) on the income inequality. Using a province level panel data of 2012-2018 the results show that loans from such a bank are associated with income inequality reduction, supporting the arguments that microfinance contributes to income inequality reduction. This study has an important policy implication regarding the existence of BPR in Indonesia.

Illicit drug contamination of the Bristol pound local currency

Reports have shown the prevalence of the contamination of banknotes with a number of different drugs. These studies have focused on investigating drug contamination levels on currency which is either nationally or even international distributed. To present there has been no studies undertaken on banknotes circulating in well-defined and limited geographic areas. In this present study we have investigated the presence of drug contamination on the Local Currency, circulating in a known geographic area in and around the city of Bristol, UK; the Bristol Pound (£B). The effect of sample size was investigated and a post-hoc statistical power analysis undertaken. Following liquid extraction with the aid of sonication, levels of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, MDMA, ketamine and methamphetamine were determined by liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Seven samples of each denomination in circulation were investigated. The calculated median values per note were 2030ng cocaine, 91.9ng benzoylecgonine, 0.779ng methamphetamine, 62.8ng MDMA and 3440ng ketamine. This study focuses on our preliminary studies and to our knowledge this is the first investigation focused on the drug contamination of a Local Currency.

Developing a neighbourhood: exploring construction projects from a project ecology perspective

As a consequence of ongoing urbanisation, construction projects are likely to be performed in multi-project contexts. Zooming out from the single project and focussing on the context in which construction projects are performed is suggested as a way to broaden our understanding and develop new theory. The empirical case in focus here, which is studied as a project ecology, is the development of a major urban development district, where several interdependent construction projects have been initiated in sequence and in parallel in a limited geographical area. This case poses several challenges to the developers (construction clients) who are performing their projects simultaneously, and literally, as neighbours. Therefore, we zoom out from the single construction project and put the project in a wider context on a macro level, to increase the understanding of the context in which construction projects are performed. The theoretical lens of social capital helps us zoom in on the interdependencies that develop over time, going beyond traditional, contractual and vertical relationships. Based on empirical material, including interviews and meeting observations, the findings indicate that the developers have to coordinate horizontal interdependencies between projects. The findings also show that the construction client’s role has been extended from initiating and delivering the project mission to also having a collaborator role between projects, where ambidexterity is required.

Impact of peri-urban landscape on the organic and mineral contamination of pond waters and related risk assessment.

Ponds are important for their ecological value and for the ecosystem services they provide to human societies, but they are strongly affected by human activities. Peri-urban development, currently one of the most pervasive processes of land use change in Europe, exposes ponds to both urban and agricultural contaminants, causing a potential combination of adverse effects. This study, focused on 12 ponds located in a peri-urban area, has two main objectives: (1) to link the physico-chemical characteristics of the waters and the nature of their contaminants, either organic or mineral, with the human activities around ponds, and (2) to estimate the environmental risk caused by these contaminants. The ponds were sampled during two consecutive years in both spring and in autumn. Although the ponds were distributed over a limited geographical area, their contamination profiles were different and more correlated with the agricultural than the urban land use. In terms of aptitude for biology, half of the ponds were classified in degraded states due to their physico-chemical parameters, but without correlation with the endocrine disrupting activities and the levels of organic pollutants as indicators. The main quantified organic pollutants, however, were pesticides with sufficiently high levels in certain cases to induce an environmental risk exceeding the classical thresholds of risk quotient.

USING SEMANTICALLY PAIRED IMAGES TO IMPROVE DOMAIN ADAPTATION FOR THE SEMANTIC SEGMENTATION OF AERIAL IMAGES

Abstract. Modern machine learning, especially deep learning, which is used in a variety of applications, requires a lot of labelled data for model training. Having an insufficient amount of training examples leads to models which do not generalize well to new input instances. This is a particular significant problem for tasks involving aerial images: often training data is only available for a limited geographical area and a narrow time window, thus leading to models which perform poorly in different regions, at different times of day, or during different seasons. Domain adaptation can mitigate this issue by using labelled source domain training examples and unlabeled target domain images to train a model which performs well on both domains. Modern adversarial domain adaptation approaches use unpaired data. We propose using pairs of semantically similar images, i.e., whose segmentations are accurate predictions of each other, for improved model performance. In this paper we show that, as an upper limit based on ground truth, using semantically paired aerial images during training almost always increases model performance with an average improvement of 4.2% accuracy and .036 mean intersection-over-union (mIoU). Using a practical estimate of semantic similarity, we still achieve improvements in more than half of all cases, with average improvements of 2.5% accuracy and .017 mIoU in those cases.

Echinoderes unispinosus (Kinorhyncha: Cyclorhagida), a new record fromdeep-sea sediments in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kinorhyncha is a phylum of exclusively marine, meiofaunal invertebrates (Sørensen Pardos 2008). Currently, the knowledge about the worldwide distribution of most of its species is considerably patchy, as several taxa have been reported from a single or few localities, usually within a limited geographic area (Sørensen Pardos 2008; Yamasaki et al. 2018a). This even becomes more evident for deep-sea kinorhynchs, as noticed by Sørensen et al. (2018). Given the particular value of new records from the deep-sea to increase our understanding in the distribution of meiofaunal organisms plus the observed relationship of morphological variation through the bathymetric gradient, we aim to report the first record of Echinoderes unispinosus Yamasaki, Neuhaus George, 2018 in the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), and contribute with new information about the morphological intraspecific variation of this species. In Mexico, studies of kinorhynch biodiversity are limited to the northern Gulf of California (50-1570m depth) (Álvarez-Castillo et al. 2015, 2018; Cepeda et al. 2019) and the Yucatán Peninsula (Sánchez Martínez 2019). The GoM is a semi-closed basin located in a transition zone with both subtropical and tropical weather. Deep-sea muddy sediment samples of the present study were collected during the expedition XIXIMI-5 (10-24 June 2016) and processed according to Cisterna-Céliz et al. (2019). Kinorhynch specimens were mounted, measured and photographed according to Cepeda et al. (2019). Two adult males were identified as E. unispinosus, one from station B11 (2298 m depth) and another from station B15 (3708m depth). Kinorhynch specimens were deposited at the Aquatic Invertebrates Collection of the Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico, under accession numbers: KGM.001 and KGM.002.

Synergistic Use of Remote Sensing and Modeling for Estimating Net Primary Productivity in the Red Sea With VGPM, Eppley-VGPM, and CbPM Models Intercomparison

Primary productivity (PP) has been recently investigated using remote sensing-based models over quite limited geographical areas of the Red Sea. This work sheds light on how phytoplankton and primary production would react to the effects of global warming in the extreme environment of the Red Sea and, hence, illuminates how similar regions may behave in the context of climate variability. study focuses on using satellite observations to conduct an intercomparison of three net primary production (NPP) models-the vertically generalized production model (VGPM), the Eppley-VGPM, and the carbon-based production model (CbPM)-produced over the Red Sea domain for the 1998-2018 time period. A detailed investigation is conducted using multilinear regression analysis, multivariate visualization, and moving averages correlative analysis to uncover the models' responses to various climate factors. Here, we use the models' eight-day composite and monthly averages compared with satellite-based variables, including chlorophyll-a (Chla), mixed layer depth (MLD), and sea-surface temperature (SST). Seasonal anomalies of NPP are analyzed against different climate indices, namely, the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO), the multivariate ENSO Index (MEI), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the Dipole Mode Index (DMI). In our study, only the CbPM showed significant correlations with NPGO, MEI, and PDO, with disagreements relative to the other two NPP models. This can be attributed to the models' connection to oceanographic and atmospheric parameters, as well as the trends in the southern Red Sea, thus calling for further validation efforts.

Practitioner views of goodwill accounting under US GAAP

PurposeAccounting standards for goodwill may intensify the agency conflict. Since auditors evaluate intangible asset valuations, this study examines to what extent being an auditor (including Big 4 auditors) and being female as indicators of professional skepticism and conservatism predict accounting professionals' critical views of goodwill accounting under US GAAP.Design/methodology/approachStatistical analyses of a survey of accounting professionals in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.FindingsThe respondents' views are dispersed from trust in GAAP to views reflecting management opportunism in goodwill accounting. While being an auditor (including Big 4 auditors) does not predict a critical perception, being a female auditor is correlated with critical views to some extent.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey was carried out in a limited geographical area and personal contacts were used to maximize the response rate, which may limit generalizability.Practical implicationsStandard setters can use the results to learn how practitioners perceive the current accounting standards for goodwill. The results provide users and preparers knowledge about potential pitfalls of goodwill accounting. Preparers could increase transparency to alleviate user concerns regarding managerial opportunism in goodwill accounting.Originality/valueThis paper extends the IFRS-based literature exploring practitioners' perceptions of accounting standards by focusing on goodwill accounting in the US GAAP environment. This study also contributes to the auditing literature by providing further evidence on how gender moderates an auditor's perception of accounting standards.

Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains

In a constantly aging population, the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders is expected to rise. Understanding disease mechanisms is the key to find preventive and curative measures. The most effective way to achieve this is through direct examination of diseased and healthy brain tissue. The authors present a protocol to obtain, process, characterize and store good quality brain tissue donated by individuals registered in an antemortem brain donation program. The donation program includes a face-to-face empathic approach to people, a collection of complementary clinical, biological, social and lifestyle information and serial multi-dimensional assessments over time to track individual trajectories of normal aging and cognitive decline. Since many neurological diseases are asymmetrical, our brain bank offers a unique protocol for slicing fresh specimens. Brain sections of both hemispheres are alternately frozen (at -80 °C) or fixed in formalin; a fixed slice on one hemisphere corresponds to a frozen one on the other hemisphere. With this approach, a complete histological characterization of all frozen material can be obtained, and omics studies can be performed on histologically well-defined tissues from both hemispheres thus offering a more complete assessment of neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Correct and definite diagnosis of these diseases can only be achieved by combining the clinical syndrome with the neuropathological evaluation, which often adds important etiological clues necessary to interpret the pathogenesis. This method can be time consuming, expensive and limited as it only covers a limited geographical area. Regardless of its limitations, the high degree of characterization it provides can be rewarding. Our ultimate goal is to establish the first Italian Brain Bank, all the while emphasizing the importance of neuropathologically verified epidemiological studies.

Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains.

In a constantly aging population, the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders is expected to rise. Understanding disease mechanisms is the key to find preventive and curative measures. The most effective way to achieve this is through direct examination of diseased and healthy brain tissue. The authors present a protocol to obtain, process, characterize and store good quality brain tissue donated by individuals registered in an antemortem brain donation program. The donation program includes a face-to-face empathic approach to people, a collection of complementary clinical, biological, social and lifestyle information and serial multi-dimensional assessments over time to track individual trajectories of normal aging and cognitive decline. Since many neurological diseases are asymmetrical, our brain bank offers a unique protocol for slicing fresh specimens. Brain sections of both hemispheres are alternately frozen (at -80 °C) or fixed in formalin; a fixed slice on one hemisphere corresponds to a frozen one on the other hemisphere. With this approach, a complete histological characterization of all frozen material can be obtained, and omics studies can be performed on histologically well-defined tissues from both hemispheres thus offering a more complete assessment of neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Correct and definite diagnosis of these diseases can only be achieved by combining the clinical syndrome with the neuropathological evaluation, which often adds important etiological clues necessary to interpret the pathogenesis. This method can be time consuming, expensive and limited as it only covers a limited geographical area. Regardless of its limitations, the high degree of characterization it provides can be rewarding. Our ultimate goal is to establish the first Italian Brain Bank, all the while emphasizing the importance of neuropathologically verified epidemiological studies.

DISCUSSING THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT SECTORS IN PRESENTING THE EGYPTIAN FOLKLORE

Popular culture is all the spoken expressive forms and other arts of expression that are stored in popular memory, and it is the sum of the elements that constitute the dominant culture of the society in any country or a limited geographical area, this culture results from the daily interactions between the elements of society in addition to its needs and desires that constitute the daily life of the sector Most of the society, this culture includes all the social practices that the individual practices every day in his daily life. The study of the forms of popular culture makes us strive to highlight what distinguishes folk arts from primitive arts and cultured arts on the other hand, and these three types are among the most important types known to man since his earliest times, in prehistoric times there were primitive arts, and when civilization began and history began The human being has become to man his popular art, and after many centuries of the emergence of civilization, but in our modern era itself, we find the relics of cultured art, folk art traditions, and evidence of primitive art. Grammar Folk traditions fall between two influential circles.

Att omvandla platser av betydelse

This article concerns the transformation and re-use of archaeological sites during the pre-Roman Iron Age in the southern part of Värmlandsnäs in the county of Värmland, Sweden. Sites such as rock-carving- and burial sites in this limited geographical area have been re-used and transformed for other functions than their original purpose and within a limited timeframe of a few hundred years. The article discusses potential causes for this action from a socio-economical perspective and how these may have played a role in the restructuring of the landscape during times of change, where older sites were used to validate power structures.

Comparison of USACE Three-Factor Wetland Delineations to National Wetland Inventory Maps

Wetlands are mapped across the USA for compliance with §404 of the Clean Water Act using field-collected data and protocols in the 1987 Federal Wetlands Delineation Manual (3-factor method). The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) maps wetlands and deepwater habitats for management and policy-making using aerial image analysis with limited field verification. There have been few comparisons of maps other than for limited geographic areas or wetland types. We compared 3-factor wetland delineations to NWI maps for 1751 assessment areas (AA) in different regions. We did not assess the accuracy of either product, but instead compared mapped area and polygon count for existing data at sites, then aggregated results to broader scales and compared with ancillary data to identify factors correlated with map differences. In a subset of NWI polygons eliminating non-wetland Cowardin types, 74% of NWI polygons were mapped in common with 3-factor polygons. NWI identified greater area in 33% of AA and greater total area across all sites. Approximately 27% of AA had 3-factor but no NWI polygons, while 6.7% of AA had features mapped only by NWI. Multiple factors likely contributed to differences including polygon size and temporal mismatches between maps, suggesting caution be used when comparing products.

Genetic variability of E. histolytica strains based on the polymorphism of the SREHP gene using nested PCR-RFLP in Erbil, North Iraq

E. histolytica is an intestinal parasite that causes asymptomatic infection mostly; however, it may also cause amoebic dysentery and liver abscess. Molecular identification is required in epidemiological studies due to the presence of morphologically identical nonpathogenic species. Therefore, this study was conducted to first evaluate the prevalence rate of E. histolytica among symptomatic individuals of Erbil city, and to investigate the genetic diversity of the parasite in a limited geographic area. Accordingly, a total of 2026 samples were examined microscopically, and confirmed by nested PCR for 18s rRNA gene. The results showed that the prevalence rate of E. histolytica was 1.97% (40 samples) among symptomatic patients. The SREHP gene was used as a marker to show the genetic polymorphism of E. histolytica; however, to compare the genetic diversity of symptomatic with asymptomatic isolates, 57 asymptomatic samples were obtained from our previous study. The amplified products of the SREHP gene were digested by AluI endonuclease, and DNA banding patterns were analysed. Results showed 29 different DNA patterns among the 97 symptomatic and asymptomatic samples, 62 of which shared similar DNA patterns. However, 8 different DNA patterns were observed among asymptomatic samples, whereas 15 distinct patterns were observed among symptomatic isolates. In conclusion, this study found that the prevalence rate of E. histolytica was relatively low; relatively high genetic diversity was observed in a restricted endemic area; with higher rates of variability in symptomatic rather than in asymptomatic isolates, indicating a possible correlation between the genotype of E. histolytica and their clinical outcome.

Assessing Boreal Peat Fire Severity and Vulnerability of Peatlands to Early Season Wildland Fire

Globally peatlands store large amounts of carbon belowground with 80% distributed in boreal regions of the northern hemisphere. Climate warming and drying of the boreal region has been documented as affecting fire regimes, with increased fire frequency, severity and extent. While much research is dedicated to assessing changes in boreal uplands, few research efforts are focused on the vulnerability of boreal peatlands to wildfire. In this case study, an integration of field data collection, land cover mapping of peatland types and Landsat-based fire severity mapping was conducted for four spring wildfires where peatlands are abundant in northeastern Alberta Canada. The goal was to better understand if peatlands burn more or less preferentially than uplands in spring fires and how severely the organic soil layers (peat) of different peatland ecotypes burn. Spatial comparisons and statistical analysis showed that proportionally bogs are more likely to burn in spring Alberta wildfires than other ecosystem types, even upland conifer. When fire weather conditions for the duff layers are high, we found that fens become more vulnerable to burning. In addition, bogs experienced greater severity of burn to the peat layers than fens. Due to the small sample size of peat severity in uplands and limited geographic area of this case study, we were unable to assess if bogs are burning more severely than uplands. Further analysis and Landsat algorithm development for organic soil fire severity in peatlands and uplands is needed to more fully understand trends in belowground consumption for wildfires of all seasons and boreal ecotypes.

Endemic Fungi in Transplant and Immunocompromised Hosts: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Dimorphic endemic fungi exist as mold and yeast forms at room and body temperature within the host, respectively. Primary infection can arise from new environmental exposure and less frequently through organ transplantation. Reactivation of latent infection can occur when immunosuppression is introduced or intensified. Transplant and immunocompromised hosts (ICH) represent important populations at risk for complicated and disseminated forms of endemic mycoses (EM). Diagnosis is challenging as immunosuppression contributes to insidious clinical presentations resulting in diagnostic and treatment delays. Herein, we present updated diagnosis and prevention strategies for EM in the potential organ donor, transplant candidate and recipient, and ICH. Several EM have previously been considered as restricted to a limited geographical area; however, factors such as global warming, changing precipitation patterns, and increased travel are actively expanding the geographical distribution of endemic fungi. Serological testing, often used in the immunocompetent host, has significant limitations in transplant recipients and ICH. Fungal molecular methods have emerged as an important complementary diagnostic strategy for EM but would benefit from greater standardization and wider availability. High clinical suspicion and a multipronged diagnostic approach are recommended for timely diagnosis and prevention of complications. In ICH, combining diagnostic methods increases diagnostic yield for EM. Immunosuppression-specific risk assessment, laboratory monitoring, and targeted antifungal prophylaxis are pivotal to reduce EM burden. The use of molecular methods for early diagnosis and the role of newer azoles and immunomodulation in the management of EM require further investigation.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Health Needs Assessment in Brazil.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a disorder caused by alterations in embryo-fetal development due to prenatal alcohol exposure. It is estimated that between 0.5 and 2 per 1,000 individuals are born with FAS every year. In Brazil, there are few studies addressing the extent of the problem of FAS/fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD); these studies are confined to limited geographic areas. Therefore, we decided to perform a health needs assessment for FAS/FASD in Brazil. To estimate the prevalence of FAS and FASD in Brazil, we used information from the literature, which estimates between 0.5 and 2/1,000 births per year for FAS and 10 to 50/1,000 for FASD. We estimated that approximately 1,500 to 6,000 children are born with FAS every year. Considering the whole population, the prevalence would be 95,377 to 380,000 affected people. However, when we consider FASD as a whole, we estimate that between 1,900,000 and 9,500,000 Brazilians might suffer the more severe consequences of alcohol exposure during pregnancy and be living with FASD. The results of the current study indicate that FAS and FASD are prevalent disorders in Brazil, and more policies targeting alcohol intake during pregnancy must be developed.

Factors affecting consumer preferences for “natural wine”

PurposeThe aim of this study is to understand which wine quality characteristics, consumers' attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics affect the consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for a bottle of natural wine.Design/methodology/approachThe research is experimental and investigated the purchasing intentions of 613 Italian wine consumers within a hypothetical setting. In order to elicit WTP for natural wine, a multiple price list (MPL) in a comparison with one bottle of conventional wine, with an average price of €5 was adopted. To understand which quality attributes of wine affect the consumers' WTP for natural wine, a Tobit regression model was implemented.FindingsThe findings reveal that drink frequency and occasion, organic production method, the content of sulfites, income and the attitudes towards healthy eating and the environment are positively associated with a higher WTP for natural wine.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of this study is related to both the convenient sample and the limited geographical area. However, identifying which quality attributes of natural wine are most appreciated by consumers and which attitudes affect this behaviour is fundamental in order to develop successful marketing strategies for product development and the design of advertising and communication campaigns.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to analyse the consumer behaviour towards natural wines contributing to enrich that part of the economic literature which states that consumers have a positive attitude towards sustainable wines.

Characterizing NWP Model Errors Using Doppler-Lidar Measurements of Recurrent Regional Diurnal Flows: Marine-Air Intrusions into the Columbia River Basin

Abstract Ground-based Doppler-lidar instrumentation provides atmospheric wind data at dramatically improved accuracies and spatial/temporal resolutions. These capabilities have provided new insights into atmospheric flow phenomena, but they also should have a strong role in NWP model improvement. Insight into the nature of model errors can be gained by studying recurrent atmospheric flows, here a regional summertime diurnal sea breeze and subsequent marine-air intrusion into the arid interior of Oregon–Washington, where these winds are an important wind-energy resource. These marine intrusions were sampled by three scanning Doppler lidars in the Columbia River basin as part of the Second Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP2), using data from summer 2016. Lidar time–height cross sections of wind speed identified 8 days when the diurnal flow cycle (peak wind speeds at midnight, afternoon minima) was obvious and strong. The 8-day composite time–height cross sections of lidar wind speeds are used to validate those generated by the operational NCEP–HRRR model. HRRR simulated the diurnal wind cycle, but produced errors in the timing of onset and significant errors due to a premature nighttime demise of the intrusion flow, producing low-bias errors of 6 m s−1. Day-to-day and in the composite, whenever a marine intrusion occurred, HRRR made these same errors. The errors occurred under a range of gradient wind conditions indicating that they resulted from the misrepresentation of physical processes within a limited region around the measurement locations. Because of their generation within a limited geographical area, field measurement programs can be designed to find and address the sources of these NWP errors.

Disparities in Palliative Care in Patients With Cancer.

In the United States, racial and ethnic minorities and people with lower socioeconomic status (SES) face structural, health system, and interpersonal barriers to optimal health care, including palliative care. Much of the available data on palliative care in racial and ethnic minorities and people with lower SES have identified disparities according to race, ethnicity, and SES. Limitations to understanding disparities in palliative care include the fact that much of the available data are cross-sectional, drawn from administrative or claims data, or based on qualitative work in limited geographic areas. To advance our knowledge and achieve health equity with respect to palliative care in patient groups that have been understudied or that are known to receive disparate care, gaining a deeper understanding of the barriers to palliative care is necessary from patients, families, referring providers, and communities. In addition, cultural competency training for all members of the palliative care team and referring providers needs to be changed from being obligatory to being intentional and assessed continuously. Finally, concerted changes in coordination of care, payment structures, and policy are needed.