Syntheses Of Knowledge Research Articles

Investigating mangrove-human health relationships: A review of recently reported physiological benefits.

Ecosystems continue to experience degradation worldwide, with diminishing ecosystem services presenting unfavourable outlooks for all aspects of human wellbeing including health. To inform protective policies that safeguard both ecological and health benefits, syntheses of available knowledge are required especially for neglected ecosystems such as mangroves. However, reviews about relationships between mangroves and human health are rare. This review identifies and categorizes evidence reported in the Web of Science database about health impacts of mangrove ecosystem goods and services. 96 papers were retained after application of exclusion criteria and filtration steps to results of database and bibliographical searches. Findings highlight most abundantly that bioactive extracts of mangrove sediment, plant, and plant associates are useful for the treatment of human ailments and infections. Also reported is the heavy and trace metal bioremediation capacity of mangroves ecosystems, with concomitant modulating effects on associated human health risks. Evidence of mangrove influence on human nutrition via fisheries and food production support services, either singularly or in conjunction with linked ecosystems is also offered. Finally, mangrove effects on the prevalence of causative agents, and therefore on the incidence and distribution of infectious diseases, are also presented. Positive influences of mangroves on human health are implied via three of the four routes reported, which diminish with degradation and appreciate with proper ecosystem functioning. The undesirable links lie chiefly with higher infectious disease risk posed by mangroves, which requires further exploration regarding suspected ecological pathways available for limiting said risks. Other gaps identified are sparse information about in-vivo efficacy and safety of mangrove bioactive isolates, specific nutrient content and diversity associated with mangrove-supported food production outcomes, and the geographically limited nature of most findings. Beyond economic value, health benefits of mangroves are significant and outweigh their disservices to humans. To ensure sustainable supply of the full complement of these benefits, they should be considered when designing ecosystems management regimes.

Retracted Article] Kraków Geobotanical School During 1859–2020: Main Achievements

Abstract Retraction notice: Upon the request of the authors, this review has been retracted. The reason for it is that the last decade of geobotanical studies in Kraków has not been described in depth and this affects the conclusions. Kraków Geobotanical School is considered one of the oldest and longest-operating botanical schools in Europe; it was active from 1859 to 2020. The purpose of this article is to summarize the achievements of the school. We divided the history of the school into six periods: ( i ) the Formation period (1859–1903); ( ii ) the Romantic period (1903–1917), wherein long-term research projects were completed and with M. Raciborski considered as the first headmaster of the school; ( iii ) the Classical period (1917–1970), wherein new ideas and research techniques were developed with W. Szafer as the headmaster; ( iv ) the Duumvirate period (1971–1993), with J. Kornaś and A. Jasiewicz as the headmasters; ( v ) the Descendant schools period (1994–2010), wherein traditional (morphological) methods were utilized; and ( vi ) the Decline period (2011–2020). Each of these periods was characterized by the names of the headmasters or leaders, their roles, and their main achievements. We suppose that Kraków Geobotanical School, in its present structure, has finished its scientific activity, for which we present a few arguments. We have attached to the main text of the article, an extensive tables containing the topics of geobotanical research carried out in each of the six periods, along with publication samples. The most important scientific achievements of Kraków Geobotanical School are the following: several thousand publications, including monographs and syntheses of knowledge on Polish flora and vegetation; introduction of new disciplines in Poland (e.g., paleobotany, nature conservation, phytosociology, palynology, study on synanthropization); description of new plant and fungus taxa; and identification of syntaxonomic units in Poland and abroad.

Global trends, biases and gaps in the scientific literature about freshwater fish eggs and larvae.

Syntheses of knowledge are important to reveal trends, biases and gaps in the scientific literature, indicating main data shortfalls and research needs. In this regard, the authors conducted a broad systematic review on the literature about freshwater fish eggs and larvae to investigate (a) temporal trends in the global scientific production, (b) the scope and habitat types, (c) the spatial distribution of studies, (d) the fish species contemplated and their respective conservation status and (e) the factors associated with the spatial distribution of studies. They analysed 654 studies published between 1950 and 2020. The number of studies has increased over time, but with a weak trend. Most studies investigated basic questions about biology and ecology and were carried out chiefly in rivers and lakes. These studies covered 95 freshwater ecoregions (22.3% of all ecoregions) and recorded 871 fish species (4.8% of all freshwater fish currently described). Most species were assessed by the IUCN and classified into six threat categories, but approximately 35% were not evaluated. The main drivers affecting the spatial distribution of studies were ecoregion area, road density, river volume and the number of hydroelectric plants. Results point to significant biases and gaps in the global scientific literature on fish eggs and larvae, especially associated with habitat type, spatial distribution and target species, emphasizing the need to address specific topics. Such biases and gaps indicate the existence of important data shortfalls, which compromise management and conservation planning, as information on fish eggs and larvae is basic and critical for the assessment of fish recruitment and population dynamics.

The future of advertising research in virtual, augmented, and extended realities

The ever-changing media environment brought on by the constant advent of new technologies requires advertising scholars to stay nimble, updating and innovating research theories and methodologies. In this essay, we note how the International Journal of Advertising has contributed to our understanding of immersive technologies, and propose research areas to further advance our knowledge of ‘how advertising works’ in immersive spaces. Through the discussion of the four focal research areas, including naturally mapped interactivity, context-on-demand in advertising, user experiences with immersive advertising, and the emerging media landscape associated with the metaverse, we call on advertising scholars to consider the next steps forward to enhance our knowledge through transdisciplinary team-science efforts and collaboratively pursue the syntheses of theories, methods, and knowledge.

The Multiplicity of Feminism: Syntheses of the Local and the Universal

Any universal definitions of feminism - as well as what constitutes feminist theory, political strategy, and related practices - are problematic. The patriarchal relations that feminists oppose have different configurations depending on the social, economic, cultural and political contexts. Consequently, there are various feminisms: multiple syntheses of local and universal knowledge. This article analyzes the conceptual and political rifts within the global feminism associated with the hegemony of western ideas and its criticism by transnational and postcolonial feminists and examines the postsocialist transformations and localizations of feminism and, in particular, the evolution of feminist ideas in post-soviet Russia.

The present and future of grassland restoration

Grasslands contribute greatly to biodiversity and human livelihoods; they support 70% of the world's agricultural area, but are heavily degraded by human land use. Grassland restoration research and management receives less attention than forests or freshwater habitats, although grasslands are critical for sustaining ecosystems multifunctionality and capacity to support biodiversity. In this article, we introduce a Special Issue which considers major trends and prospects in grassland restoration. We identified three key topics: First, restoration must confront widespread seed and site limitations, and new monitoring methods, including remote sensing techniques, are critical for restoration projects. Second, we highlight that restored grasslands typically require ongoing disturbance management and that research is required to determine optimal approaches for implementing this management during restoration. Third, global and regional restoration agendas should be harmonized with site‐level goals, and syntheses of current knowledge and research needs must guide grassland restoration across scales. We also identify research gaps to be filled, and challenges which grasslands face in the future: (1) a need for careful target vegetation selection and climate‐adaptive restoration; (2) lack of knowledge in dynamics and restoration of several regions and grassland types, including drylands and (sub)tropical regions; (3) increased importance of species arrival sequence, and high stochasticity of species establishment; and finally (4) issues of post‐restoration management to guarantee long‐term sustainability of restored sites. A new generation of research and restoration projects to bridge these gaps is necessary to mitigate environmental challenges spanning localities to the globe as we commence the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Web-Based Interventions to Promote Healthy Lifestyles for Older Adults: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

BackgroundWith the aging of the population and rising rates of chronic diseases, older adults need support if they are to adopt healthy lifestyles. Web-based interventions should be considered for this purpose, since they are easily accessed and can foster healthy lifestyles among older adults. However, the literature on such interventions discusses a variety of components and effects and provides only 2 syntheses of knowledge on web-based interventions with older adults. These studies focus on populations aged 50 years and older, whereas the components and effects of interventions for a population of older adults (ie, 65 years and older) may differ. In addition, these 2 syntheses examined only quantitative studies, although other types of studies (ie, qualitative) are available and could help advance knowledge in this field. A scoping review is therefore relevant in order to explore the extent of the literature on this subject.ObjectiveThe purpose of the study described by this protocol is to explore the extent of the literature (experimental, quasi-experimental, qualitative, systematic reviews, and grey literature) on the components and effects of web-based interventions as a way to promote healthy lifestyles among older adults.MethodsThe databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Review and Joanna Briggs Library will be searched, in addition to the grey literature using Google Scholar and OpenGrey. Studies will be selected for the review by 2 researchers, working independently. The data will be synthesized based on the conceptualization of web-based interventions (ie, behavior change techniques, dispensation modes, and theories). A thematic analysis will be performed to summarize the components of the interventions studied.ResultsThe database search will begin in August 2020 and be completed in October 2020.ConclusionsThis scoping review should highlight web-based interventions designed to promote healthy lifestyles, as well as their components and effects, among people aged 65 years and older. These results could provide important guidance for intervention developers and designers in identifying the components of web-based interventions relevant to older adults and lead to further studies on this topic.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/23207

Rüsen’s Legacy of Synthetic Historicism

Abstract The English translation of Jörn Rüsen’s Historik is a major event in the global community of the theory of history. Few contemporary thinkers in this field have been so systematic and comprehensive as Rüsen. This book, rendered as Evidence and Meaning, is the outcome of a whole life devoted to the renewal of German historicism. Rüsen’s contribution mirrors the great debates held in West Germany since the 1960s about the theory of history (Historik), discussions that prompted a conjoint reassessment of the old dispute between historicist academia and Marxist or Weberian sociologism, including the consequences of the linguistic turn. Rüsen has opened the German historicist tradition toward spaces of compromise with the Western “scientific” or more generalizing history. Furthermore, Rüsen’s synthetic historicism, with its insistence on praxis, might be taken as a case of convergent evolution between German and American syntheses of historical life and historical knowledge.

Introduction to the Karoo Special Issue: Trajectories of Change in the Anthropocene

The Karoo is an arid to semi-arid area across the western third of South Africa, comprising the Succulent Karoo and Nama-Karoo biomes. Its environment and people have experienced considerable changes, and now face new challenges as the Anthropocene unfolds. This Karoo Special Issue (KSI) brings together new information in 20 papers, a mixture of reviews, research articles and commentaries, significantly adding to previous syntheses of Karoo knowledge. The KSI comprises several sections focusing on different aspects of change, namely a lead article that provides an overview of social and environmental changes, followed by papers concerning changes over time from deep history to contemporary conditions (Xhaeruh to Karoo), insights from long-term studies at several sites across the area, different perspectives of ecosystem processes, and ending with a set of reflections and proposals for research priorities. We end this introduction by dedicating the KSI to two outstanding scholars of the Karoo: Dr Suzanne J Milton and Dr W Richard J Dean. These KSI papers, many of which were written by their colleagues, friends and former students, represents a Festschrift that celebrates and honours their research as well as the inspiration and leadership they gave to a generation of scientists.

Multiple drivers of plant diversity in coastal dunes: A Mediterranean experience

In light of the global biodiversity loss, syntheses of the available knowledge about drivers of biodiversity are becoming increasingly important. However, despite the high number of studies analyzing patterns of plant species diversity, few attempts have been made to synthesize findings within different ecosystems. In this work, the relative role of a wide set of predictors imputable to three conceptual-methodological domains (abiotic, human-mediated disturbance and landscape domain, hereafter AD, DD and LD) was simultaneously analyzed in 644 random plots distributed along the coastal dunes of Central Italy. Native species richness and focal species cover, both field-recorded, were used as response variables. Predictors pertaining to the three domains were derived from both field surveys and high-resolution remotely sensed imagery (LiDAR and orthophotos). To test how AD, DD and LD affect native species richness and focal species cover, a GLM and a linear model were fitted respectively. The three domains were then ranked according to their relative importance.Although the role of the three domains was always significant, they turned out to unequally contribute to the explanation of native species richness and focal species cover patterns. For Mediterranean coastal dune ecosystems, AD appears to be the key biodiversity driver, followed by DD and LD. Our results suggest that as long as human disturbance is limited, plant diversity will distribute according to species abiotic tolerances, regardless of habitat loss and fragmentation per se. Representing a first effort towards a synthesis of plant diversity drivers in coastal dunes, this work points to the importance, in Mediterranean coastal dune ecosystems, of zonation dynamics, whose occurrence should be addressed as a priority issue by efficient conservations strategies.

Using the Web as a Higher Order Thinking Partner

Previous work provided foundations for the theory of web-mediated knowledge synthesis, a framework for using the web in more creative and generative ways. This article explores specific instances of the various elements of that theory in a single case from the initial study. That is, a thorough exploration of think-aloud, screen capture, and interview data from a single study participant provides a rich description of how divergent key word search phrases, synthesis for meaning, in-the-moment insights, repurposing, reinforcement, and note-taking worked in concert to support creative syntheses of knowledge about ill-structured topics when learning on the web. Furthermore, 10 implications of this analysis for related curriculum and research design are provided.

Catalogue of Known Immature Stages of Camptosomate Leaf Beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Cryptocephalinae and Lamprosomatinae)

Abstract. Lack of syntheses of knowledge on immature stages of insects impedes accurate understanding of their diversity, biology and evolution. Literature describing known immature stages of case-bearing chrysomelids is catalogued, i.e., 358 species of Cryptocephalinae Gyllenhal and 13 species of Lamprosomatinae Lacordaire. The catalogue covers the world fauna including fossils, and reviews information on eggs, larvae, pupae, host plants, distribution, host ants (for myrmecophiles), and parasitoids and predators. This synthesis should stimulate efforts to discover and study immatures, and generate new hypotheses about the evolution in these two sister clades of leaf beetles.

Enhancing learning effectiveness by adopting a knowledge-based usability guidelines

Purpose – Guidelines for the design of knowledge-based e-learning usability systems are absent from the current recognized set of usability design heuristics and from an established evaluation methodology of e-learning system developments. Such systems can help Web designers and instructional designers design for different user needs and decide which properties are of a higher priority, thus meriting more design and development efforts. The authors aim to help students develop higher-order thinking skills, such as application, evaluation and syntheses of knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – The authors applied Merrill ' s first principles of instruction and usability properties as pedagogical and usability design guidelines, knowledge management (KM) and hierarchical task analysis as methodological knowledge bases. The authors proposed a KM e-learning usability framework which frames our mapping of Web usability attributes to e-learning usability properties. The authors aim to investigate whether adopting Merrill ' s first principles of instruction and usability properties as knowledge-based guidelines/design factors would help learners develop higher-order thinking skills and whether this design would result in positive technology acceptance. The authors also developed a method matrix to map the selected methods of cognitive engineering to its potential uses in the KM e-learning usability framework of this paper and mapped e-learning usability tools with components in the KM e-learning usability system. Findings – Findings indicated that our design effectively helped learners to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills and positive technology acceptance, promising indications toward the design and development of knowledge-based usability frameworks and systems. Research/limitations/implications – The sample size of this paper is small. Hence, conclusions are not generalizable at this moment. Originality/Value – The authors’ contributions are twofold: First, the authors proposed a KM e-learning usability framework, which frames the mapping of KM processes to e-learning principles and usability properties. Second, the authors proposed a method matrix which maps the selected methods of cognitive engineering to its potential uses in their KM e-learning usability framework. Based on these mappings and focusing on the usability properties navigation and learning support, the authors used ICT/Web2.0 tools to present/visualize information more clearly and more sensibly/manageably to students, to help trigger new knowledge and develop higher-order thinking skills, such as application, evaluation and syntheses of knowledge and articulate information from different perspectives throughout the KM life cycle.

Exploring ESL/EFL Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge on Reading Strategy Instruction

<p>Any instructional practice must be derived from a teacher’s knowledge base for teaching, which can be acquired by training, study, or practice. While much attention has been paid to teachers’ practical content knowledge in real educational settings, comprehensive syntheses of expert knowledge on a particular teaching task for a specific group of teachers are still scarce. This paper tends to synthesize ESL/EFL teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of reading strategy instruction through learning the expertise conveyed in literature. Drawing on related studies in the field of reading strategy instruction either in general or in ESL/EFL contexts, this argumentative article first proposes a synthesized reading strategy instruction model which consists of one key component and two general principles, all of which create and are created by a safe and risk-free environment where students learn to use strategies actively and consciously with motivation and assistance. This article then elaborates on eight instructional strategies using summarizing instruction as an example in terms of three types of knowledge: declarative, procedural, and conditional. With the enrichment of the pedagogical content knowledge on strategy instruction, ESL/EFL teachers might teach reading strategies effectively both <em>with</em> metacognition, i.e., consciously planning, monitoring, and evaluating their teaching, and <em>for</em> metacognition, namely, to affect their students’ metacognitive awareness of strategy use in reading.</p>

Participation of Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review

IntroductionParticipation in leisure activities is beneficial for children’s health and development, including those living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Available syntheses of knowledge about participation have focused primarily on children with physical disabilities; however, little attention is directed to children with ASD. The purpose of this study was therefore to synthesize research evidence regarding the patterns and determinants of leisure participation in this population.MethodsA scoping review of peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2013 was performed. Two reviewers independently selected studies based on a systematic procedure. Inclusion criteria for studies were participants with ASD, aged 5–17 years, and description of participation in leisure activities outside of school. Data were organized and synthesized based on domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF): Body Functions, Activity Limitations, and Environmental factors.ResultsSixteen articles (out of 920) met the inclusion criteria and majority of those were descriptive in nature (69 %), whereas information about the factors that affect participation was reported in only 31 %. Overall, children with ASD participate in fewer leisure activities, mostly in the home setting, either with adults or on their own. Factors identified as associated with participation involved family support and social attitudes (environmental factors), sensitivity and behavioral challenges (body functions), and communication and interpersonal relationships problems (activity limitations).DiscussionKnowledge derived from this review provides preliminary understanding of and justifies greater attention towards the concept of participation in this population. Further research directions are suggested to address the identified gaps in the literature.

LAND-COVER MODELLING USING CORINE LAND COVER DATA AND MULTI-LAYER PERCEPTRON

Abstract Last decades of research have revealed the environmental impacts of Land-Use/Cover Change (LUCC) throughout the globe. Human activities’ impact is becoming more and more pronounced on the natural environment. The key activity in the LUCC projects has been to simulate the syntheses of knowledge of LUCC processes, and in particular to advance understanding of the causes of land-cover change. Still, there is a need of developing case studies regional models to understand LUCC change patterns. The aim of this work is to reveal and describe the main changes in LUCC patterns occurring in Poznań Lakeland Mesoregion according to CORINE Land Cover database. Change analysis was the basis for the identification of the main drivers in land cover changes in the study area. The dominant transitions that can be grouped and modelled separately were identified. Each submodel was combined with all submodels in the final change prediction process. Driver variables were used to model the historical change process. Transitions were modelled using multi-layer perceptron (MLP) method. Using the historical rates of change and the transition potential model scenario for year 2006 was predicted. Corine Land Cover 2006 database was used for model validation.

Formalizing Syntheses of Medical Knowledge: The Rise of Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviews

Originally developed by social scientists, meta-analysis is now one of the central methods of evidence-based medicine. This paper offers an account of the emergence of meta-analysis in social science in the 1970s, its adoption in medicine in the 80s, and the birth of the closely related format of systematic reviews in the early 1990s. The paper investigates the extent to which medical meta-analysis relied on previous work by social scientists, as well as the manner in which systematic reviews grew out of these developments. Throughout the exposition, attention is paid to the formalization of the procedures involved in synthesizing research.

Introduction to the Symposium: Responses of Organisms to Climate Change: A Synthetic Approach to the Role of Thermal Adaptation

On a global scale, changing climates are affecting ecological systems across multiple levels of biological organization. Moreover, climates are changing at rates unprecedented in recent geological history. Thus, one of the most pressing concerns of the modern era is to understand the biological responses to climate such that society can both adapt and implement measures that attempt to offset the negative impacts of a rapidly changing climate. One crucial question, to understand organismal responses to climate, is whether the ability of organisms to adapt can keep pace with quickly changing environments. To address this question, a syntheses of knowledge from a broad set of biological disciplines will be needed that integrates information from the fields of ecology, behavior, physiology, genetics, and evolution. This symposium assembled a diverse group of scientists from these subdisciplines to present their perspectives regarding the ability of organisms to adapt to changing climates. Specifically, the goals of this symposia were to (1) highlight what each discipline brings to a discussion of organismal responses to climate, (2) to initiate and foster a discussion to break barriers in the transfer of knowledge across disciplines, and (3) to synthesize an approach to address ongoing issues concerning biological responses to climate.

Spiritual Politics After Deleuze: Introduction

Religious discourse now permeates the theoretical humanities. At least since Jacques Derrida’s insistence upon complex connections between deconstruction and negative theology,1 there has been an onslaught of writing connecting the demise of traditional metaphysics to the apotheosis of modernity, and a general despair over the possibility of any purely “secular” form of critical reason. A new postmodernism in philosophy now seeks to move beyond merely immanent critique, toward the construction of alternative and experimental syntheses of knowledge and belief. Thus figures such as Agamben, Badiou, Caputo, De Vries, Eagleton, Taylor, Vattimo, and Zizek, among others, have put religious concepts at the center of both analysis and methodology in contemporary critical theory.2 Conversely, contemporary theology (especially the so-called radical orthodoxy movement) has found an engagement with theory to be crucial to its own ends in a post-metaphysical era.3 Meanwhile in politics, the perceived failure (exacerbated since 9/11) of secularization and liberal norms to bring genuine progress and peace has made a violent return to the shelter of dogmatic religious certainty an attractive option for those seeking refuge from an increasingly dehumanized globalization guided by a winner-takes-all neoliberalism that unites the world’s peoples only in enslavement to the economically entitled. But the compelling nature of religious conceptions of struggles against state and corporate power do not end or begin with fundamentalist believers. Even an atheist thinker like Alain Badiou has gone so far as to champion Saint Paul’s vehement Christian faith as a model for militant resistance to the present world order.4 Badiou claims that only something like Paul’s insistence that the community of believers are those separated out from every “positive” or constituted cultural identity has the power to model a humanity that can rise above the morass of confused desire upon which capital and state power play. Badiou summarizes the ideology of capitalism in the axiom that “there are only bodies and languages.” To this “democratic materialism,” which relativizes and thus belittles the significance of all events, Badiou insists we must add the exception, “there are also truths.”5 The militant church (or Maoist militant) belongs to no particular culture, “neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free” (Galatians 3:28). Badiou’s insistence on a kind of religious interpellation after the

Dating and publication of the Encyclopédie Méthodique (1782– 1832), with special reference to the parts of the Histoire Naturelle and details on the Histoire Naturelle des Insectes

The background and publication history of Charles-Joseph Panckoucke’s Encyclopédie Méthodique are presented. The Encyclopédie Méthodique represents one of the major scientific publication achievements of all time. Its publisher Panckoucke recruited series editors and contracted contributors, authored and edited contributions, coordinated the first 12 years of production with up to 18 printing presses and 90 staff, and sold the results to subscribers despite financial difficulties, political upheavals, and the inevitable tardiness and even unfortunate demise of contributing authors. Because the Encyclopédie Méthodique is essential to the knowledge of systematics since its natural history dictionaries contained some of the first syntheses of taxonomic knowledge since Linnaeus’ Systema Naturae, this paper presents for the first time accurate dates of publication of all 102 parts comprising the entire Encyclopédie Méthodique. Also included are lists of authors of each dictionary, list of editors of each dictionary, and lists of the original printers contracted to produce the first parts.