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Falerii Novi : the Ground-Penetrating Radar survey of the Roman town
No full textThe Roman town of Falerii Novi was founded after Rome defeated the Faliscans in 241 BC, and features widely in modern discussions of Roman expansion in Italy, with its town walls and defences often illustrated in accounts of architecture. Its site is now largely farmland, with the only buildings within the Roman walls being a Medieval church and associated structures, now used as a farm. The site attracted attention of 19th-century antiquarians and was explored in limited excavations during the later 20th century, but its history and development remain only partially understood. In the late 1990s it was the subject of one of the first large-scale geophysical surveys completed in Italy using magnetometry. The publication of that work in 2000 formed the basis for an historical and archaeological interpretation that has subsequently been widely debated. The present volume results from a second innovative large-scale survey which deployed Ground- Penetrating Radar. This book presents the spectacular results of that work combined with evidence from the earlier magnetometry and integrated with information from excavation and past finds. The resulting account provides a full and new discussion of the town and its topographical and historical development, placed in the broader setting of Roman Italy. It includes a new interpretation of the early history of the town, discussions of the evidence of the major buildings as well as a series of accounts of spatial patterning within the city. As well as providing the first comprehensive synthesis of this important Roman town, the book shows how evidence from geophysical surveys can form the basis for new approaches to the understanding of Roman urbanism.The Roman town of Falerii Novi was founded after Rome defeated the Faliscans in 241 BC, and features widely in modern discussions of Roman expansion in Italy, with its town walls and defences often illustrated in accounts of architecture. Its site is now largely farmland, with the only buildings within the Roman walls being a Medieval church and associated structures, now used as a farm. The site attracted attention of 19th-century antiquarians and was explored in limited excavations during the later 20th century, but its history and development remain only partially understood. In the late 1990s it was the subject of one of the first large-scale geophysical surveys completed in Italy using magnetometry. The publication of that work in 2000 formed the basis for an historical and archaeological interpretation that has subsequently been widely debated. The present volume results from a second innovative large-scale survey which deployed Ground- Penetrating Radar. This book presents the spectacular results of that work combined with evidence from the earlier magnetometry and integrated with information from excavation and past finds. The resulting account provides a full and new discussion of the town and its topographical and historical development, placed in the broader setting of Roman Italy. It includes a new interpretation of the early history of the town, discussions of the evidence of the major buildings as well as a series of accounts of spatial patterning within the city. As well as providing the first comprehensive synthesis of this important Roman town, the book shows how evidence from geophysical surveys can form the basis for new approaches to the understanding of Roman urbanism.B
Deep eutectic solvent enhances antibacterial activity of a modular lytic enzyme against Acinetobacter baumannii
No full textIn this study, we evaluated the combined effect between MLE-15, a modular lytic enzyme composed of four building blocks, and reline, a natural deep eutectic solvent. The bioinformatic analysis allowed us to determine the spatial architecture of MLE-15, whose components were bactericidal peptide cecropin A connected via a flexible linker to the cell wall binding domain (CBD) of mesophilic 201 phi 2 - 1 endolysin and catalytic domain (EAD) of highly thermostable Ph2119 endolysin. The modular enzyme showed high thermostability with the melting temperature of 93.97 +/- 0.38 degrees C, significantly higher than their natural counterparts derived from mesophilic sources. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of MLE-15 was 100 mu g/mL for a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, while the MIC of reline ranged from 6.25 to 25% v/v for the same strains. The addition of reline effectively reduced the MIC of MLE-15 from 100 mu g/mL to 3.15-50 mu g/mL. This combination displayed additive effects for most strains and synergism for extensively antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Bacillus subtilis. The subsequent evaluation revealed that MLE-15 eliminated planktonic cells of A. baumannii RUH134, but was ineffective against matured biofilms. However, combined with reline, MLE-15 reduced the bacterial load in the matured biofilm by 1.39 log units. Confocal fluorescence microscopy indicated that reline damaged the structure of the biofilm, allowing MLE-15 to penetrate it. Additionally, MLE-15 and its combination with reline eradicated meropenem-persistent cells of A. baumannii RUH134. Effectiveness in lowering the MIC value of MLE-15 as well as protection against antibiotic-tolerant persister cells, indicate that MLE-15 and reline combination is a promising candidate for effective therapies in bacterial infections, which is especially important in the light of the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance.In this study, we evaluated the combined effect between MLE-15, a modular lytic enzyme composed of four building blocks, and reline, a natural deep eutectic solvent. The bioinformatic analysis allowed us to determine the spatial architecture of MLE-15, whose components were bactericidal peptide cecropin A connected via a flexible linker to the cell wall binding domain (CBD) of mesophilic 201 phi 2 - 1 endolysin and catalytic domain (EAD) of highly thermostable Ph2119 endolysin. The modular enzyme showed high thermostability with the melting temperature of 93.97 +/- 0.38 degrees C, significantly higher than their natural counterparts derived from mesophilic sources. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of MLE-15 was 100 mu g/mL for a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, while the MIC of reline ranged from 6.25 to 25% v/v for the same strains. The addition of reline effectively reduced the MIC of MLE-15 from 100 mu g/mL to 3.15-50 mu g/mL. This combination displayed additive effects for most strains and synergism for extensively antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Bacillus subtilis. The subsequent evaluation revealed that MLE-15 eliminated planktonic cells of A. baumannii RUH134, but was ineffective against matured biofilms. However, combined with reline, MLE-15 reduced the bacterial load in the matured biofilm by 1.39 log units. Confocal fluorescence microscopy indicated that reline damaged the structure of the biofilm, allowing MLE-15 to penetrate it. Additionally, MLE-15 and its combination with reline eradicated meropenem-persistent cells of A. baumannii RUH134. Effectiveness in lowering the MIC value of MLE-15 as well as protection against antibiotic-tolerant persister cells, indicate that MLE-15 and reline combination is a promising candidate for effective therapies in bacterial infections, which is especially important in the light of the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance.A
Defaults at work : a field experiment on the effect of nudges on stand-up working
No full textSedentary behavior at work is a major, and growing, public health concern. This field experiment investigates the effectiveness of behavioral nudges, specifically default settings on height-adjustable workstations (HAWS), in promoting stand-up working behavior. It also examines whether transparency and health coaching enhance these effects. The study was conducted in a Belgian governmental organization and included 149 employees across eight departments. Departments were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: a non-transparent default nudge (NTDN), a transparent default nudge (TDN), a classical health coaching intervention, or a hybrid intervention combining TDN and coaching. Over an eight-week intervention period, employee posture was recorded using fixed camera snapshots taken every 30 min. These data were used to calculate the stand-up ratio. The NTDN increased stand-up rates from 1.82% to 4.93%. The TDN more than doubled this effect, reaching 11.25%. The combination of TDN and coaching produced the highest increase, with stand-up rates rising to 18.80% (d = 9.85). Coaching alone showed no significant effect. Although behavior partially regressed after the interventions were removed, post-measurement stand-up ratios after a week remained higher than baseline. These findings suggest that transparent default nudges, especially when combined with low-threshold coaching, can meaningfully reduce sedentary behavior in everyday office environments.Sedentary behavior at work is a major, and growing, public health concern. This field experiment investigates the effectiveness of behavioral nudges, specifically default settings on height-adjustable workstations (HAWS), in promoting stand-up working behavior. It also examines whether transparency and health coaching enhance these effects. The study was conducted in a Belgian governmental organization and included 149 employees across eight departments. Departments were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: a non-transparent default nudge (NTDN), a transparent default nudge (TDN), a classical health coaching intervention, or a hybrid intervention combining TDN and coaching. Over an eight-week intervention period, employee posture was recorded using fixed camera snapshots taken every 30 min. These data were used to calculate the stand-up ratio. The NTDN increased stand-up rates from 1.82% to 4.93%. The TDN more than doubled this effect, reaching 11.25%. The combination of TDN and coaching produced the highest increase, with stand-up rates rising to 18.80% (d = 9.85). Coaching alone showed no significant effect. Although behavior partially regressed after the interventions were removed, post-measurement stand-up ratios after a week remained higher than baseline. These findings suggest that transparent default nudges, especially when combined with low-threshold coaching, can meaningfully reduce sedentary behavior in everyday office environments.A
Lexical coverage and reading comprehension in adolescent L2 learners of English and French
No full textPrevious studies suggest that L2 learners should have 95% coverage of a written text (i.e., should know 95% of words in the text) to achieve basic comprehension and 98% coverage to achieve optimal, unassisted comprehension (Laufer, 1989; Hu & Nation, 2000; Schmitt et al., 2011). These studies have had vast implications for vocabulary research, informing, for instance, lexical profiling studies relying on the 95-98% figures for setting vocabulary learning targets (e.g., Webb & Rodgers, 2009). However, previous coverage studies are few in number and have several limitations: They have focused mainly on English and exclusively on university-aged learners (Kremmel et al., 2023), typically of advanced proficiency (Herman & Leeser, 2022). To address these gaps, we will investigate the coverage-comprehension relationship in both English and French (the main L2s in Flemish education) and focus on a previously unexplored population, that is, adolescent L2 learners in the fourth grade of secondary school (ages 15-16). The research question is: “What is the relationship between adolescent L2 learners’ lexical coverage of English and French written text and their text comprehension?”Two hundred participants read two English and two French narrative texts (ca. 500 words per text). To determine lexical coverage, they first completed a form-meaning vocabulary test (yes-no format) containing a large sample of words from the texts (per language ca. 150 items, including 30 non-words to discourage guessing). After reading each text, the participants completed a multiple-choice test measuring comprehension of main ideas and supporting details. Data collection is ongoing and results will be analysed using mixed-effects modelling. Findings will expand upon our current understanding of the coverage-comprehension relationship, revealing whether it is mainly linear (cf. Schmitt et al., 2011) or, alternatively, whether threshold percentages such as the widely cited 95-98% figures may apply to our new population and a new L2 (French).Previous studies suggest that L2 learners should have 95% coverage of a written text (i.e., should know 95% of words in the text) to achieve basic comprehension and 98% coverage to achieve optimal, unassisted comprehension (Laufer, 1989; Hu & Nation, 2000; Schmitt et al., 2011). These studies have had vast implications for vocabulary research, informing, for instance, lexical profiling studies relying on the 95-98% figures for setting vocabulary learning targets (e.g., Webb & Rodgers, 2009). However, previous coverage studies are few in number and have several limitations: They have focused mainly on English and exclusively on university-aged learners (Kremmel et al., 2023), typically of advanced proficiency (Herman & Leeser, 2022). To address these gaps, we will investigate the coverage-comprehension relationship in both English and French (the main L2s in Flemish education) and focus on a previously unexplored population, that is, adolescent L2 learners in the fourth grade of secondary school (ages 15-16). The research question is: “What is the relationship between adolescent L2 learners’ lexical coverage of English and French written text and their text comprehension?”Two hundred participants read two English and two French narrative texts (ca. 500 words per text). To determine lexical coverage, they first completed a form-meaning vocabulary test (yes-no format) containing a large sample of words from the texts (per language ca. 150 items, including 30 non-words to discourage guessing). After reading each text, the participants completed a multiple-choice test measuring comprehension of main ideas and supporting details. Data collection is ongoing and results will be analysed using mixed-effects modelling. Findings will expand upon our current understanding of the coverage-comprehension relationship, revealing whether it is mainly linear (cf. Schmitt et al., 2011) or, alternatively, whether threshold percentages such as the widely cited 95-98% figures may apply to our new population and a new L2 (French).C
Troost en devotie : relieken ontrafeld
No full textEen reliek of relikwie, een overblijfsel van een heilige, of een voorwerp dat met een heilige in aanraking is geweest, wordt in sommige religies vereerd vanwege de vermeende wonderdadige kracht. Het kan gaan om lichaamsdelen, kledingstukken, of andere voorwerpen die de heilige bezat of gebruikte. Jeroen Reyniers doet al ruim tien jaar onderzoek naar relieken in België en neemt ons mee in deze vaak onbekende wereld van rouwen, eren en vereren.Een reliek of relikwie, een overblijfsel van een heilige, of een voorwerp dat met een heilige in aanraking is geweest, wordt in sommige religies vereerd vanwege de vermeende wonderdadige kracht. Het kan gaan om lichaamsdelen, kledingstukken, of andere voorwerpen die de heilige bezat of gebruikte. Jeroen Reyniers doet al ruim tien jaar onderzoek naar relieken in België en neemt ons mee in deze vaak onbekende wereld van rouwen, eren en vereren.A
Boeren met bytes: digitale kansen voor landbouwinnovatie in Oeganda
No full textIn Oeganda staan kleinschalige boeren voor steeds grotere uitdagingen: klimaatverandering, gebrekkige marktinformatie en beperkte toegang tot technologie. Toch biedt de opmars van de smartphone onverwachte kansen voor innovatie op het platteland. Onderzoeker Berre Deltomme trok samen met Oegandese collega's op veldonderzoek en bracht die kansen in kaart.In Oeganda staan kleinschalige boeren voor steeds grotere uitdagingen: klimaatverandering, gebrekkige marktinformatie en beperkte toegang tot technologie. Toch biedt de opmars van de smartphone onverwachte kansen voor innovatie op het platteland. Onderzoeker Berre Deltomme trok samen met Oegandese collega's op veldonderzoek en bracht die kansen in kaart.
Preferences and attitudes on acetate- versus lactate-buffered crystalloid solutions for intravenous fluid therapy : an international survey
No full textBackgroundClinical practice guidelines recommend use of buffered crystalloid solutions in critically ill patients but do not distinguish between solutions based on different buffering anions, that is, acetate- versus lactate-buffered solutions. We therefore surveyed relevant physicians about their preferences and attitudes toward each solution.MethodsWe conducted an international online survey of anesthesiologists (within perioperative care) and intensive care unit (ICU) physicians. The survey comprised 13 questions on respondents' attitudes and preferences regarding the use of acetate- and/or lactate-buffered crystalloid solutions, including their opinions on a potential clinical trial comparing these solutions and the clinical importance of such a trial.ResultsA total of 1321 respondents participated, with a response rate of 34%, ranging from 14% to 96% across 18 countries. Most surveyed physicians reported using buffered crystalloid solutions "very often" (76%) or "often" (16%). Availability of acetate- and lactate-buffered solutions varied, as 35% of respondents reported having both types available, 35% reported having only acetate-, and 24% reported having only lactate-buffered solutions available. Most respondents (87%) would support a randomized trial in adult emergency surgical patients and ICU patients comparing an acetate- versus lactate-buffered crystalloid solution. The median rating of the clinical importance of this question was 5 (interquartile range 4-6) on a scale from 1 to 9.ResultsA total of 1321 respondents participated, with a response rate of 34%, ranging from 14% to 96% across 18 countries. Most surveyed physicians reported using buffered crystalloid solutions "very often" (76%) or "often" (16%). Availability of acetate- and lactate-buffered solutions varied, as 35% of respondents reported having both types available, 35% reported having only acetate-, and 24% reported having only lactate-buffered solutions available. Most respondents (87%) would support a randomized trial in adult emergency surgical patients and ICU patients comparing an acetate- versus lactate-buffered crystalloid solution. The median rating of the clinical importance of this question was 5 (interquartile range 4-6) on a scale from 1 to 9.ConclusionsIn this international survey, the reported use of buffered crystalloid solutions was high. Availability of the different solutions varied widely. The support for a potential randomized trial was high, with the clinical importance rated important but not critical by most respondents.BackgroundClinical practice guidelines recommend use of buffered crystalloid solutions in critically ill patients but do not distinguish between solutions based on different buffering anions, that is, acetate- versus lactate-buffered solutions. We therefore surveyed relevant physicians about their preferences and attitudes toward each solution.MethodsWe conducted an international online survey of anesthesiologists (within perioperative care) and intensive care unit (ICU) physicians. The survey comprised 13 questions on respondents' attitudes and preferences regarding the use of acetate- and/or lactate-buffered crystalloid solutions, including their opinions on a potential clinical trial comparing these solutions and the clinical importance of such a trial.ResultsA total of 1321 respondents participated, with a response rate of 34%, ranging from 14% to 96% across 18 countries. Most surveyed physicians reported using buffered crystalloid solutions "very often" (76%) or "often" (16%). Availability of acetate- and lactate-buffered solutions varied, as 35% of respondents reported having both types available, 35% reported having only acetate-, and 24% reported having only lactate-buffered solutions available. Most respondents (87%) would support a randomized trial in adult emergency surgical patients and ICU patients comparing an acetate- versus lactate-buffered crystalloid solution. The median rating of the clinical importance of this question was 5 (interquartile range 4-6) on a scale from 1 to 9.ResultsA total of 1321 respondents participated, with a response rate of 34%, ranging from 14% to 96% across 18 countries. Most surveyed physicians reported using buffered crystalloid solutions "very often" (76%) or "often" (16%). Availability of acetate- and lactate-buffered solutions varied, as 35% of respondents reported having both types available, 35% reported having only acetate-, and 24% reported having only lactate-buffered solutions available. Most respondents (87%) would support a randomized trial in adult emergency surgical patients and ICU patients comparing an acetate- versus lactate-buffered crystalloid solution. The median rating of the clinical importance of this question was 5 (interquartile range 4-6) on a scale from 1 to 9.ConclusionsIn this international survey, the reported use of buffered crystalloid solutions was high. Availability of the different solutions varied widely. The support for a potential randomized trial was high, with the clinical importance rated important but not critical by most respondents.A
Lemmatisation & Morphological Analysis of Unedited Greek: Do Simple Tasks Need Complex Solutions?
No full textFine-tuning transformer-based models for part-of-speech tagging of unedited Greek text has outperformed traditional systems. However, when applied to lemmatisation or morphological analysis, fine-tuning has not yet achieved competitive results. This paper explores various approaches to combine morphological features to both reduce label complexity and enhance multi-task training. Specifically, we group three nominal features into a single label, and combine the three most distinctive features of verbs into another unified label. These combined labels are used to fine-tune DBBERT, a BERT model pre-trained on both ancient and modern Greek. Additionally, we experiment with joint training -- both among these labels and in combination with POS tagging -- within a multi-task framework to improve performance by transferring parameters. To evaluate our models, we use a manually annotated gold standard from the Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams. Our results show a nearly 9 pp. improvement, demonstrating that multi-task learning is a promising approach for linguistic annotation in less standardised corpora.Fine-tuning transformer-based models for part-of-speech tagging of unedited Greek text has outperformed traditional systems. However, when applied to lemmatisation or morphological analysis, fine-tuning has not yet achieved competitive results. This paper explores various approaches to combine morphological features to both reduce label complexity and enhance multi-task training. Specifically, we group three nominal features into a single label, and combine the three most distinctive features of verbs into another unified label. These combined labels are used to fine-tune DBBERT, a BERT model pre-trained on both ancient and modern Greek. Additionally, we experiment with joint training -- both among these labels and in combination with POS tagging -- within a multi-task framework to improve performance by transferring parameters. To evaluate our models, we use a manually annotated gold standard from the Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams. Our results show a nearly 9 pp. improvement, demonstrating that multi-task learning is a promising approach for linguistic annotation in less standardised corpora.
Der Teufel : Roman /
No full textHier ist das Erste Deutsche Fernsehen mit der Tagesschau … Willkommen in der Welt der Guten und der Bösen! Wir schreiben die siebziger und achtziger Jahre, die Zeit des Blauen Bocks: Onkel J. sitzt vor den Nachrichten und versteht auf paradiesische Weise nichts, derweil seine geliebte Mutter während des schier endlosen ersten Golfkriegs älter und älter wird. Mittendrin hat Andreas seinen ersten linksutopisch unterfütterten Sex bei Räucherkerzenduft, und zu Besuch kommt das Tante Lenchen, das die DDR unverdrossen für das bessere System hält. Nicht zu vergessen Saddam Hussein: Eben noch im Kampf gegen dämonische Regime unterstützt, dann plötzlich selbst zum Teufel geworden. Wie konstruiert man das: Gut und Böse? Und aus was genau besteht eigentlich jugoslawisches Hackfleisch? Wie wir untergehen im täglichen Meinungswettstreit, wie wir einem Überblick ständig ferngehalten werden, wie wir diesen Überblick vielleicht sowieso nie bekommen können, davon handelt dieser Roman. „Es ist eine Welt der Binarität, in die das Kind hineinwächst. Es geht um Gut und um Böse, dazwischen gibt es nichts. Diese Eindeutigkeiten weiten sich auch auf das Zwischenmenschliche aus und auf die Sexualität. Da muss ein Mann ein Mann sein und sich entsprechend verhalten. Über all das wird eines Tages einer richten: „Der liebe Gott“. Das ist der Titel des letzten Bandes, der noch aussteht. Amen“ (Platz 3 der SWR Bestenliste April 2025)Hier ist das Erste Deutsche Fernsehen mit der Tagesschau … Willkommen in der Welt der Guten und der Bösen! Wir schreiben die siebziger und achtziger Jahre, die Zeit des Blauen Bocks: Onkel J. sitzt vor den Nachrichten und versteht auf paradiesische Weise nichts, derweil seine geliebte Mutter während des schier endlosen ersten Golfkriegs älter und älter wird. Mittendrin hat Andreas seinen ersten linksutopisch unterfütterten Sex bei Räucherkerzenduft, und zu Besuch kommt das Tante Lenchen, das die DDR unverdrossen für das bessere System hält. Nicht zu vergessen Saddam Hussein: Eben noch im Kampf gegen dämonische Regime unterstützt, dann plötzlich selbst zum Teufel geworden. Wie konstruiert man das: Gut und Böse? Und aus was genau besteht eigentlich jugoslawisches Hackfleisch? Wie wir untergehen im täglichen Meinungswettstreit, wie wir einem Überblick ständig ferngehalten werden, wie wir diesen Überblick vielleicht sowieso nie bekommen können, davon handelt dieser Roman. „Es ist eine Welt der Binarität, in die das Kind hineinwächst. Es geht um Gut und um Böse, dazwischen gibt es nichts. Diese Eindeutigkeiten weiten sich auch auf das Zwischenmenschliche aus und auf die Sexualität. Da muss ein Mann ein Mann sein und sich entsprechend verhalten. Über all das wird eines Tages einer richten: „Der liebe Gott“. Das ist der Titel des letzten Bandes, der noch aussteht. Amen“ (Platz 3 der SWR Bestenliste April 2025